Sardis Independent Chapel and attached schoolroom · Photo: Geni · CC BY-SA 4.0A Welsh-speaking town: 32% of Ystradgynlais’s residents speak Welsh
Households average 2.1 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 4,032 people lived in Ystradgynlais, in 1,898 households. The census found that 36% of households are one person living alone locally. This Powys town has more residents who describe themselves as White British than just over four fifths of UK towns, at 95%.
What the Census says about Ystradgynlais’s people
A Welsh-speaking town
1,245 residents, 32% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 82% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Many carers
507 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 13% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Ystradgynlais is older than 84% of UK towns: a median age of 49.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
8.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across Wales’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Ystradgynlais sits higher than 78% of UK towns: 26%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ystradgynlais, 49.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
In Ystradgynlais, 4.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 70% of UK towns
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; Ystradgynlais has 27% and 29%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 7.3%. For comparison, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns.
Fewer families than 89% of UK towns: 22% of households have children
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.
Compared with 3.1% across Wales’s towns, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Measured more widely, 27% of households have dependent children across Wales’s towns.
Ystradgynlais ranks above 69% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 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
The share of households in flats is 7.6%, against 14% across Wales’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households live in a terraced house across Wales’s towns. Census figures put households without a car or van at 18% in Ystradgynlais. On households in detached houses, Ystradgynlais sits lower than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 24%.
In Ystradgynlais, 3.4% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 85% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
14% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 23% across Wales’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%) and in EU countries (1%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 54% of UK towns. Typically, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns.
Welsh, spoken by 32% of Ystradgynlais’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Asked in 2021, 1,245 residents aged 3 and over, 32%, said they can speak Welsh; across Welsh towns, 16%: more than in 82% of Welsh towns. It is the highest share of Powys’ 7 towns of 2,500+.
Ystradgynlais ranks above 71% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 44%
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: 95% of Ystradgynlais · Powys’ towns 94% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
1.2% of residents are Muslim. Across Wales’s towns, 47% of residents said they have no religion. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 68% of UK towns.
More unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 13% of residents
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
189 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Compared with other places, adults who have never married are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 58% of UK towns. To put it in context, one in ten residents give unpaid care across Wales’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 47%, below 57% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Ystradgynlais compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 25% hold no qualification (20%).
130th oldest of 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to Ystradgynlais in age: Meopham (49.8), Wadhurst (49.8), Metheringham (49.9) and Branston (50).
No nearby town is as old as Ystradgynlais
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ystradgynlais | 4,032 | — | 49.8 | 26% | 22% |
| Ystalyfera | 7,831 | 1.9 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 27% |
| Seven Sisters | 1,343 | 2 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Cwmllynfell and Ystradowen | 1,354 | 3.1 mi | 49 | 26% | 26% |
| Creunant | 1,664 | 3.5 mi | 44.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen | 2,744 | 5.4 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 26% |
| Brynamman | 2,636 | 5.4 mi | 46.1 | 21% | 25% |
| Resolven | 2,162 | 5.5 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 Ystradgynlais’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 Ystradgynlais’s residents
What is the population of Ystradgynlais?
The 2021 Census counted 4,032 people in Ystradgynlais’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ystradgynlais?
The median age was 49.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ystradgynlais?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 94% across Powys’ towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ystradgynlais?
44% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Ystradgynlais good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Ystradgynlais’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Ystradgynlais?
1,245 residents aged 3 and over, 32%, 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.