Health lags (D): 8.3% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 25% are disabled. It lags on hazard risk as well — 7.2% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Cost of living is its strong suit — homes sell for a median £175,000, about 4.2 times local household income. Overall, that makes a D, good for #16 of 19 in West Glamorgan. Nationally, it does better than 11% of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · flood risk, Natural Resources Wales.
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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Neath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Neath.
Health
Life expectancy in Neath is shorter than in 84% of UK towns
At the census, just over three quarters of people in Neath called their health good or very good, lower than both West Glamorgan’s towns (78%) and Wales’s towns (78%). The nearest A&E to Neath is Morriston Hospital, 5.4 miles away. 5 GP practices serve the town. Also worth knowing: a disability affects 25% of people locally.
76%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 76%Fair 16%Bad or very bad 8%
Census 2021
Neath
West Glamorgan
Wales
Good or very good health
76%
78%
78%
Bad or very bad health
8.3%
7.9%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
25%
23%
22%
77.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
81.4
life expectancy at birth, women
Welsh towns’ Health Grades use 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’ also use OHID’s small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy.
Schools
21 state schools in Neath
Three of them are shown below, each with the reason. Neath’s 14 primaries and three secondaries have 6,519 pupils between them.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 21 schools →
History
Neath has 94 listed buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Only one town in West Glamorgan has more listed buildings for its size than Neath. Grade II* covers 8 of them. This West Glamorgan town has 2 registered historic parks and gardens.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Violent crime runs high in Neath: 39.5 per 1,000 residents a year, above West Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
3,153 crimes and 462 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Neath’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.1 reports per 1,000, higher than both West Glamorgan’s towns (7.8) and Wales’s towns (10.4).
39.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 40% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1,653
Public order481
Damage & arson236
Shoplifting199
Other theft190
Drugs104
Other crime100
Vehicle crime70
Anti-social462
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.
39.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
9.9
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.1
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Long commutes are the norm in Neath: just 35% travel under 5 km, below West Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About just over a quarter of its commuters stay in Neath for work. At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both West Glamorgan’s towns (14%) and Wales’s towns (16%). This West Glamorgan town counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B
Private renting is less common in Neath than in West Glamorgan’s towns or across Wales’s towns: 14%
Owners make up two thirds of households, higher than both West Glamorgan’s towns (63%) and Wales’s towns (65%). The £175,000 median rests on 1,503 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £690 a month across the Neath Port Talbot council area.
£175Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Neath£175K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£280,000
366
Semi-detached
£179,950
585
Terraced
£130,000
503
Flat or maisonette
£90,000
49
67%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
14%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£690
average private rent a month, Neath Port Talbot council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
Few people in Neath are 15 to 24: 10%, fewer than in West Glamorgan’s towns and across Wales’s towns
28% of adults hold a degree, below both West Glamorgan’s towns (30%) and Wales’s towns (31%). People 65 and over make up nearly a quarter of the town. Neath has a median age of 44.8 years.
44.8median age
NeathWest GlamorganWales
Ages · share of residents
23%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications23%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level28%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenWalesMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Bonnie Tyler: Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Ray Milland: Whitey Schafer, Public domain · Ben Davies: Steindy 16:11, 10 November 2016 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Connor Roberts: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, CC BY 4.0 · Katherine Jenkins: UKinUSA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rubin Colwill: Timmy96, CC0
Cilfrew has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Neath
How many listed buildings are there in Neath?
94 on Cadw’s list, 8 of them Grade II*. It also has 8 scheduled monuments.
Does Neath flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
Is Neath safe?
About the middle for its size: 60% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−. Burglary was rare, with 51 reports in the year.
Is Neath expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £90,000, terraced houses £130,000, semi-detached houses £179,950 and detached houses £280,000.
About Neath
Large town in West Glamorgan, Wales
Neath is a built-up area of 40,738 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
Population
40,738 (Census 2021)
Council
Neath Port Talbot
County
West Glamorgan
Region
Wales
Area
4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²)
ONS code
W45000476
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.
