Photo: Dylan Moore · CC BY-SA 2.0How South Glamorgan stacks up
Among its neighbours, South Glamorgan leads on health and jobs and income and trails on cost of living and flood risk. It struggles most with more crime than most areas. All told, South Glamorgan grades D, 56th of 65 graded areas with a score of 14.
Each subject puts the official figure for the whole county beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
52nd of 65C−21/100 More recorded crime than most areas. Police recorded 37.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents over the past year (25th highest of 65 areas with police.uk figures). Cowbridge leads its towns at #255 of 2,138; 13% of town residents live in top-quarter towns.
With theft, burglary and the rest counted too, 94 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 10th highest.
Source: police.uk street-level crime, September 2025 to August 2026 (each crime placed by its LSOA); Census 2021 residents. Greater Manchester Police publishes none.
Measure: recorded crime against residents (violence, burglary, vehicle crime, criminal damage), as in our Safety grades. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,138 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Few weak spots, town by town
At the quiet end sit Dinas Powis (#337), Rhoose (#478) and Llantwit Major (#503) of 2,138 towns. The county-wide rate ranks 25th highest, but town by town it places 54th of 61.
| County | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ards and North Down | 100% | 0% | |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 100% | 0% | |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 100% | 0% | |
| Mid Ulster | 100% | 0% | |
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 78% | 0% | |
| South Glamorgan | 13% | 0% |
Town centres and the people who live there
police.uk places every crime at a street or public place near where it happened, never an address, and we count it where that point falls. The county figure counts violent and sexual offences everywhere in South Glamorgan, including town centres, stations and shopping streets. Town grades count the crimes that touch residents where they live (violence, burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage), so a town with a busy centre is not marked down for its shoplifting.
Schools
Not gradedNot graded: Wales publishes no school results. Wales publishes no school-by-school or county test results that compare with England’s, so Welsh counties, like Welsh towns, have no Schools grade. Their overall grade weighs the other subjects.
Cost of living
80th of 98C−19/100 Harder to afford than most areas. Homes cost 5.5 times what the average household takes in a year: a typical sale of £278,000 against income of £50,600. Top-quarter towns are rare here; Eglwys-Brewis comes closest at #771. Both its neighbours, Mid Glamorgan and Gwent, score higher.
Typical sale price: £278,000 (5,208 sales, 30th highest).
Private rent £1,125 a month (24th highest); Band D council tax £2,071 (33rd lowest). Shown for context.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard sales September 2025 to August 2026; ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023); ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026); council Band D 2026/27.
Measure: our Cost of living grade: prices and rents against local income, plus council tax. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Health
68th of 98C31/100 Slightly worse health than average. Among its neighbours it does best on health, with Gwent second. Of a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 63.6 are expected in good health (13th shortest among the areas). Town by town it lands near the middle, with Cowbridge its best at #174 of 2,515.
Total life expectancy is 80.1 years (15th shortest).
Source: ONS life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by small area (MSOA), 2019 to 2023, men and women averaged.
Measure: our Health grade: ONS life and healthy life expectancy, Census health, and OHID indicators in England. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Jobs & income
57th of 98C+42/100 A little less money than most. Its claimant rate, 3.8%, ranks 19th highest, while household income ranks 39th highest. The average household income is £50,600 a year, 9% below the England and Wales figure. No neighbour beats it on incomes; Mid Glamorgan comes closest.
Claimant rate: 3.8% of 16 to 64-year-olds claim out-of-work benefits (August 2026), 19th highest. Counted half in the grade.
Source: ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023), household-weighted; DWP claimant count (August 2026) by council.
Measure: our Jobs & income grade: household income. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,156 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Getting about
34th of 98B+66/100 Slightly easier on foot than average. One town stands apart: Cardiff, #153 in the UK, while nearly every other town sits lower. About 3 in 10 commuters leave the car at home here (12th highest). No neighbour beats it on walkability; Gwent comes closest.
Worked mainly from home at the 2021 Census: 36% of workers (context; they are left out of the commuting share).
Source: ONS Census 2021, method of travel to work (TS061) by council; people working mainly from home left out.
Measure: our Walkability grade: how many everyday places are within reach on foot. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,515 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Flood risk
58th of 87C34/100 A bit more flood risk than most. The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales put 1,816 homes in its towns at high or medium flood risk, 0.9% of them. Few town residents live in a top-quarter town; its best showing is Cowbridge, #663 of 2,452. Both its neighbours, Mid Glamorgan and Gwent, score higher.
Source: Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales flood-risk maps (rivers and the sea), homes in every town of the county.
Measure: our Hazard risk grade: the share of homes at high or medium flood risk. The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 2,452 graded towns. 9 South Glamorgan towns.
Growth
54th of 98B−45/100 The county grows faster than its towns. The population grew 10.1% between 2011 and 2024, to 519,662, against 10.0% across England and Wales (29th fastest). None of its towns makes the top quarter; Cardiff comes closest, at #565 of 1,579. The county-wide figure flatters its towns; villages and the countryside lift it.
From 2021 to 2024 alone, +5.6% (3rd fastest).
Source: ONS mid-year population estimates, 2011 and 2024.
Measure: population change from 2011 to 2024 (ONS estimates for built-up areas). The top quarter is the best-placed towns holding a quarter of the people in the UK’s 1,579 graded towns. 5 South Glamorgan towns.
How South Glamorgan compares to its neighbours
Next to Mid Glamorgan and Gwent, it comes out ahead on health, jobs and income and getting about and behind on cost of living and flood risk.
| South Glamorgan | Mid Glamorgan | Gwent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | D 1456th of 65 | D 562nd of 65 | D− 264th of 65 |
| Safety | C− 2141st official · 13% in top towns | C− 2350th official · 22% in top towns | D− 261st official · 5% in top towns |
| Schools | Not graded | Not graded | Not graded |
| Cost of living | C− 1976th official · 1% in top towns | B− 5231st official · 29% in top towns | C+ 3656th official · 18% in top towns |
| Health | C 3143rd official · 12% in top towns | D 655th official · 5% in top towns | C− 1949th official · 7% in top towns |
| Jobs & income | C+ 4239th official · 9% in top towns | C− 1584th official · 5% in top towns | D 971st official · 3% in top towns |
| Getting about | B+ 6612th official · 0% in top towns | D 1285th official · 0% in top towns | D 1383rd official · 0% in top towns |
| Flood risk | C 3414th official · 2% in top towns | C+ 3634th official · 21% in top towns | B− 5323rd official · 21% in top towns |
| Growth | B− 4529th official · 0% in top towns | C− 2169th official · 0% in top towns | B 6065th official · 28% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the county’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of its town residents living in a top-quarter town for the UK. Neighbour names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is an official figure for the whole county, its towns, villages and countryside together, built from the small areas and councils that make it up and ranked against the other counties. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the county’s graded towns of 2,500 or more, the share whose town is in the top quarter for the UK. Quarters are of people, not towns: the top quarter is the best-placed towns that together hold a quarter of everyone living in graded towns, so a county of big cities is not marked down just for being urban. A county can do well on one measure and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the area’s standing in one UK league of 98: the ceremonial counties of England (London counts as one), Wales’s eight preserved counties, and Scotland’s 32 and Northern Ireland’s 11 council areas, each called by its own name. The two measures’ percentiles are averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. Where a nation publishes its own kind of figure, the official figure is ranked within that nation: school results everywhere, health in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and flood risk in Scotland. Each area’s figures are set beside its own nation’s. 100 is the best county, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, jobs & income 12, getting about 8, growth 8, flood risk 6 (out of 100), over the subjects a county has. Counties with fewer than 5 graded towns (Rutland, Bristol) are graded on the official figures alone.
What it is not. A county figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a county is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out villages and towns under 2,500. Neither says anything about any one street.
Gaps. Wales publishes no school results that compare with England’s, so Welsh counties have no Schools grade. Greater Manchester Police publishes no street-level crime, so Greater Manchester has no Safety grade and, as for its towns, no overall grade. Nor does Police Scotland, so Scotland’s council areas have no Safety grade or overall grade yet. Scotland and Northern Ireland have no small-area income figures, so their household income is estimated from ONS household income per head. Flood risk has no county-wide official figure; it is the share of homes in the county’s towns at high or medium risk. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work
Sources: 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.