Photo: Jonathan Billinger · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Coelbren is over 53.6, older than 95% of UK towns
In Coelbren, 17% of households have dependent children, beside 27% across Wales’s towns. Its 118 households held 287 residents at the 2021 Census. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 5.7%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 16%, more than in 99% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 30%, a higher share than 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 75–79: 9.8% of residents, 2.4 times the share across Wales’s towns. To put it in context, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.7%
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 or semi-routine work; Coelbren has 25% and 31%. 8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Above 93% of UK towns: 36% of households are one person living alone
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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. On average, nearly a third of households are one person living alone across Wales’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 4.2%.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 87% of UK towns, at 25%
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
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. The benchmark for households without a car or van across Wales’s towns: 21%. On the census count, 30% of households live in a detached house.
Residents born outside the UK: 4.5%, a lower share than 71% of UK towns
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
95% of residents have English as their main language, against 96% across Wales’s towns. For comparison, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns.
Can speak Welsh: 22% of Coelbren’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
22% of residents aged 3 and over, 61 people, said in 2021 that they can speak Welsh, more than in 77% of Welsh towns (Welsh towns: 16%). Top of Powys: Ystradgynlais, at 32%.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 82% of UK towns
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 Coelbren · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as Christian at 49%, Coelbren is behind 56% of UK towns on that count. Across Wales’s towns, nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British. For Coelbren, the census puts residents with no religion at 42%.
Married adults and civil partners: 40%, a lower share than 92% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 15. By way of comparison, 43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. On adults who have never married, Coelbren sits lower than just over half of UK towns: 32%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 22%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Coelbren counts 22% of its adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; at the other end, 28% have no qualification (20%).
No nearby town is as old as Coelbren
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coelbren | 287 | — | 53.6 | 30% | 17% |
| Seven Sisters | 1,343 | 2.6 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Glyn-neath | 3,927 | 3.5 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Ystradgynlais | 4,032 | 3.7 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 22% |
| Cwmgwrach | 1,071 | 4 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 24% |
| Ystalyfera | 7,831 | 5.5 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 27% |
| Creunant | 1,664 | 5.5 mi | 44.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Resolven | 2,162 | 5.7 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 24% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Coelbren’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 Coelbren’s residents
What is the population of Coelbren?
The 2021 Census counted 287 people in Coelbren’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Coelbren?
The median age was 53.6 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Coelbren?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Coelbren?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Coelbren good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Coelbren’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Coelbren?
61 residents aged 3 and over, 22%, 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.