Photo: Nigel Davies · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 1% of households live in a flat or apartment in Abercrave
Against a figure of 10% across Wales’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in Abercrave comes in at 13%. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Abercrave sits higher than 84% of UK towns: 96%. In 2021, the Census found 723 residents here, living in 311 households. Households with dependent children account for 31%.
Abercrave is younger than 60% of UK towns: a median age of 43.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 40–44: 7.9% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Wales’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 57% of UK towns. In Abercrave, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 95% of UK towns: 6.2%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across Wales’s towns, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine work; in Abercrave, 31% and 27%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 9.1%. The census found that 6% of adults are full-time students here.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Abercrave households average 2.3 people, larger than in 57% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Powys’ towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across Wales’s towns. Few places have as many one-person households: 32% here, more than in 69% of UK towns.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 67% of UK towns: 23%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
The share of households in terraced houses is 22%, against 29% across Wales’s towns. Against that, 24% of households live in a detached house across Wales’s towns. Here, 14% of households have no car or van.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 94% of UK towns, at 2.8%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 10%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). Abercrave has more residents whose main language is English than 87% of UK towns, at 99%. Typically, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns.
Welsh is spoken by 33% of Abercrave’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 234 residents aged 3 and over, 33%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: more than in 84% of Welsh towns. In Powys, Ystradgynlais has the highest share (32%).
48% of residents said they have no religion, a share 89% of UK towns don’t reach
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 96% of Abercrave · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.3%). At 42%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 88% of UK towns. Across Wales’s towns, residents with no religion come to 47%.
Abercrave: 35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 66% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Little separates the share of married adults and civil partners here, 43%, from the figure across Wales’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 34 residents. Measured more widely, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns.
32% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Abercrave’s adults: 32% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 31% and 20% across Wales’s towns.
The towns around Abercrave are all older
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abercrave | 723 | — | 43.2 | 21% | 31% |
| Ystradgynlais | 4,032 | 2.2 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 22% |
| Seven Sisters | 1,343 | 2.4 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Ystalyfera | 7,831 | 4.1 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 27% |
| Cwmllynfell and Ystradowen | 1,354 | 4.5 mi | 49 | 26% | 26% |
| Creunant | 1,664 | 5.2 mi | 44.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Glyn-neath | 3,927 | 5.3 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Cwmgwrach | 1,071 | 5.5 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Powys’ towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Powys (or Wales), summed the same way as Abercrave’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Abercrave’s residents
What is the population of Abercrave?
The 2021 Census counted 723 people in Abercrave’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Abercrave?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Abercrave?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Abercrave?
48% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Abercrave good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Abercrave’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Abercrave?
234 residents aged 3 and over, 33%, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067, TS032). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.