Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 34% of the population. It is a town of 3,533 residents in West Glamorgan, Wales.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Police record less crime here than in most towns: police record 7.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 2.9 home and vehicle crimes. Residents are healthier than most (A+): 4.7% in bad or very bad health, 18.1% disabled. Buying in is costly: homes sell for a median £372,500, about 8.2 times local household income. Overall, that makes an A, better than 86% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #1 of 19 in West Glamorgan.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
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 3 things Bishopston 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 Bishopston is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 5 buildings inside Bishopston’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bishopston. Best known first.
CastleOystermouth Castle1.6 km outside town, to the east
CastlePennard Castle2.8 km outside town, to the west
GardenClyne Gardens2.2 km outside town, to the northeast
PierMumbles Pier3.6 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumEgypt Centre4.5 km outside town, to the northeastZooZooAnimal Park2.8 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 Bishopston.
Aged 15 to 24: 8.6% of residents. 34% of residents are 65 or over, above both West Glamorgan’s towns (21%) and Wales’s towns (21%). Children are 14% of the town. Half the people of Bishopston are older than 53.8.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Bishopston | West Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 24% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 34% | 21% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 9.3% | 21% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 12% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 52% | 30% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Glamorgan and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Between them, one primary and one secondary teach 1,437 pupils in Bishopston. All of them are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishopston Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 309 | – |
| Bishopston Comprehensive SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,128 | – |
Of all the crimes, 53% were violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.7 reports per 1,000, below both West Glamorgan’s towns (8.5) and Wales’s towns (10.4). Also worth knowing: the 12 months to August 2026 brought 59 recorded crimes inside Bishopston’s built-up area, and 7 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.
84% of Bishopston’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above West Glamorgan’s towns (78%) and Wales’s towns (78%) alike. There is no GP practice locally: the nearest is 1.7 miles off. The nearest A&E to Bishopston is Morriston Hospital, 8.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Bishopston | West Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 78% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.7% | 7.9% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 23% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy among them, do allow for age.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Nearly a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, below West Glamorgan’s towns (27%) and Wales’s towns (27%) alike. Cadw’s list names 5 listed buildings in Bishopston: 1 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
3% of households rent from a council or housing body. Private renters make up 8% of households, below both West Glamorgan’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%). Bishopston is the most expensive of the 19 towns in West Glamorgan: its median sale is £372,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £445,000 | 79 |
| Semi-detached | £352,500 | 42 |
| Flat or maisonette | £110,000 | 30 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 11% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both West Glamorgan’s towns (14%) and Wales’s towns (16%); what’s more, for 21% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living in Bishopston, 7% work in the town itself. 1.3% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishopston | 3,533 | — | A | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Southgate | 1,938 | 2.1 | — | D | A+ | A− |
| Dunvant | 1,732 | 3.1 | — | B− | A+ | B |
| Three Crosses | 1,476 | 3.4 | — | D | A− | B+ |
| Gowerton | 7,447 | 4.3 | C− | B | C | C− |
| Pen-clawdd | 1,655 | 4.9 | — | B | A− | B |
| Swansea | 170,090 | 5.1 | C− | B+ | D | D |
| Loughor | 4,632 | 5.8 | B− | B+ | B− | C |
Southgate, Dunvant, Three Crosses and Pen-clawdd have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £372,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £110,000, semi-detached houses £352,500 and detached houses £445,000.
Town in West Glamorgan, Wales
Bishopston is a built-up area of 3,533 people, in the Swansea 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.