Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,524 in West Glamorgan, Wales.
A town with more to fix than most. Residents’ health trails most towns: 9.4% in bad or very bad health, 27.1% disabled. Taken together, its subjects give Cwmavon a C− overall, better than 15% of UK towns. It ranks #13 of 19 in West Glamorgan. Incomes are on the low side (D): the mean household earns £41,620 a year. Prices are modest for what you get: a typical home costs £147,500 and rent runs £690 a month.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
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 Cwmavon 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 Cwmavon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 3 buildings inside Cwmavon’s built-up area.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1905.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cwmavon.
The nearest A&E to Cwmavon is Morriston Hospital, 8.8 miles away. At the census, 74% of people in Cwmavon called their health good or very good, below both West Glamorgan’s towns (78%) and Wales’s towns (78%). One GP practice serves the town.
| Census 2021 | Cwmavon | West Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 78% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.4% | 7.9% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 27% | 23% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 16% of the total, below both West Glamorgan’s towns (27%) and Wales’s towns (27%). Scaled to its population, Cwmavon has 7 listed buildings per 10,000 people, below West Glamorgan’s towns (10) and Wales’s towns (18) alike.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 88% of commuters, higher than both West Glamorgan’s towns (83%) and Wales’s towns (81%). Of the commuters living in Cwmavon, 5% work in the town itself. This West Glamorgan town counts 0.1 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 28% of households, above both West Glamorgan’s towns (19%) and Wales’s towns (18%). Cwmavon is the cheapest of the 19 towns in West Glamorgan: its median sale is £147,500. The £147,500 median rests on 138 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £275,000 | 25 |
| Semi-detached | £145,000 | 63 |
| Terraced | £130,000 | 46 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 57% of the crimes. Over the year to August 2026, 220 offences were reported in Cwmavon, along with 59 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 30.7 per 1,000 residents a year, between West Glamorgan’s towns (25.6) and Wales’s towns (33.8).
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.
Half of Cwmavon is older than 44.9, half younger. A quarter of adults hold a degree, lower than both West Glamorgan’s towns (30%) and Wales’s towns (31%). Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Cwmavon | West Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 21% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Glamorgan and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cwmavon. Best known first.
MuseumAfan Forest Mining museum3 km outside town, to the northeastGardenGardenGnoll Estate Country Park4.8 km outside town, to the northWater parkWater parkAquasplash Play Pool3.6 km outside town, to the southwestCastleCastleIvy Tower5 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cwmavon | 4,524 | — | C− | B+ | C+ | D |
| Port Talbot | 31,557 | 2.2 | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Baglan | 10,516 | 2.5 | C− | B+ | C | D |
| Neath | 40,738 | 3.9 | D | B | C− | D |
| Tonna | 2,665 | 4 | C | B− | B | C− |
| Maesteg | 18,342 | 4.4 | D | A− | C− | D− |
| Cilfrew | 2,178 | 4.7 | — | B | C+ | D− |
| Coedhirwaun | 1,270 | 5.5 | — | D | A+ | C+ |
Cilfrew and Coedhirwaun have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £147,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £145,000 and detached houses £275,000.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 61% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+. Burglary was rare, with 2 reports in the year.
Town in West Glamorgan, Wales
Cwmavon is a built-up area of 4,524 people, in the Neath Port Talbot 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.