Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 56,589 people live in this large town, in South Glamorgan, Wales.
Several subjects drag its grade down. The weak point is health: 7.5% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 22.8% are disabled. Crime is the sore point: 40.2 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 15.3 home and vehicle crimes. Only 64% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. At a median £230,000, a home costs 4.6 times the yearly income of households in the Vale of Glamorgan council area. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 17% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, better than 16% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
This town's Health Grade uses ONS's small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
The 2 things Barry does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Barry is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 63 buildings inside Barry’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 5 scheduled monuments.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1905 and a map from c. 1922.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barry. Best known first.
CastleBarry Castlein town
Theme parkBarry Island Pleasure Parkin town
Heritage railwayBarry Tourist Railwayin town
Garden · National TrustDyffryn Gardens2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumCosmeston Medieval Village1.3 km outside town, to the east
CastleFonmon Castle4.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barry.
78% of people in Barry rate their own health good or very good. The town’s share in bad or very bad health, 7.5%, is the highest of the 15 towns in South Glamorgan. At the census, 23% of people here had a disability, higher than both South Glamorgan’s towns (19%) and Wales’s towns (22%). The nearest A&E to Barry is University Hospital of Wales, 7.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Barry | South Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.5% | 6% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 19% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy.
Below are two of them, each with why it was picked. Some 8,761 pupils attend Barry’s 16 primaries and three secondaries. Two of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romilly Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 684 | – |
| Ysgol Gymraeg Bro MorgannwgLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 1,431 | – |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 5,226 crimes and 580 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Barry’s built-up area. Of all the crimes, 42% were violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.8 reports per 1,000, above both South Glamorgan’s towns (7.1) and Wales’s towns (10.4).
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Household income came to £44K a year before tax, lower than South Glamorgan’s towns (£55K) and near Wales’s towns (£44K). Work in town: 37% of resident commuters. Jobs per working resident: 0.6.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, about level with Wales’s towns (27%) and above South Glamorgan’s towns (12%). Barry’s listed buildings include Dovecote at Cadoxton Court, Grade I. Grade II* covers 7 of them, Grade I 1.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Barry is the second cheapest of the 9 towns in South Glamorgan, at £230,000. 17% rent privately, about level with Wales’s towns (17%) and below South Glamorgan’s towns (22%). Owners make up 66% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £385,000 | 390 |
| Semi-detached | £253,000 | 641 |
| Terraced | £210,000 | 1,002 |
| Flat or maisonette | £140,000 | 252 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
29% of adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 18%, higher than both South Glamorgan’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%). Residents of Barry have a median age of 40.7. Those 65 and older account for nearly a fifth of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Barry | South Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 16% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 26% |
| 65+ | 19% | 16% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 4.3% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 29% | 39% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Glamorgan and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
63 listed buildings in Barry, 1 of them Grade I.
Dovecote at Cadoxton Court: Photo: Tonyjhodge · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barry Castle: Photo: Cath Mudford · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Former Barry Docks Offices (now offices of Associated British Ports): Photo: Cane Giapponese · CC BY 2.5 · Barry Municipal Buildings and Library: Photo: Cath Mudford · CC BY-SA 3.0
68 notable people were born in Barry.
Julia Gillard: Dilma Rousseff, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gareth Jones: Український інститут національної пам'яті, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Damian Green: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Alastair Reynolds: Robert Day, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gwynfor Evans: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roger Livesey: Stage Publishing Company, Inc., photograph by Alfredo Valente, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry | 56,589 | — | C− | B | C− | D |
| Wenvoe | 1,129 | 2.5 | — | C− | B | A+ |
| Dinas Powis | 7,891 | 3 | B+ | C | B+ | B+ |
| Rhoose | 6,776 | 3.8 | C+ | C | B | B− |
| Penarth | 28,391 | 4.1 | B− | C | C+ | B− |
| St Athan | 1,594 | 6.5 | — | C | C+ | C+ |
| Eglwys-Brewis | 3,300 | 7 | B− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Cardiff | 348,511 | 7.3 | C− | C+ | D | C− |
Wenvoe and St Athan have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
63 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 7 Grade II*. Its Grade I building is Dovecote at Cadoxton Court. It also has 5 scheduled monuments.
About the middle for its size: 36% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
Band D council tax in Barry is £2,232 for 2026–27, less than in 81% of UK towns (the Vale of Glamorgan council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Large town in South Glamorgan, Wales
Barry is a built-up area of 56,589 people, in the Vale of Glamorgan council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.