Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
823 people live in this village in West Glamorgan, Wales.
Grades need 1,000 residents, so Pontrhydyfen has none; the figures on this page are still real. 45% of its homes date from before 1919. On the way to work, 8% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The median sale price is £158,000.
The 3 things Pontrhydyfen does most differently from other towns.
Cadw lists them inside Pontrhydyfen’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
45% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pontrhydyfen.
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 nine in ten commuters, higher than both West Glamorgan’s towns (83%) and Wales’s towns (81%). Households take home £42K a year before tax, on average. 3.2% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% of households rent privately. Social housing holds one in ten households, lower than both West Glamorgan’s towns (19%) and Wales’s towns (18%). Private rents average £690 a month across the Neath Port Talbot council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | £173,250 | 10 |
| Terraced | £134,000 | 14 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Just over two fifths of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 24 recorded crimes inside Pontrhydyfen’s built-up area, and 5 reports of anti-social behaviour. Property crime (burglary and damage) runs at 8.9 per 1,000 residents a year.
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.
At the census, 75% of people in Pontrhydyfen called their health good or very good, below West Glamorgan’s towns (78%) and Wales’s towns (78%) alike. Disability touches 26% of the town’s population. Seeing a GP means leaving Pontrhydyfen: the nearest practice is 1.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Pontrhydyfen | West Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 78% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.6% | 7.9% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 23% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
One scheduled monument lies in Pontrhydyfen. Scaled to its population, Pontrhydyfen has 61 listed buildings per 10,000 people, above West Glamorgan’s towns (10) and Wales’s towns (18) alike.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 14% of residents. A quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both West Glamorgan’s towns (21%) and Wales’s towns (21%). Pontrhydyfen has a median age of 47.6. Graduates make up 28% of adults.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Pontrhydyfen | West Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 21% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 21% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.2% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 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 Pontrhydyfen. Best known first.
CastleNeath Castle3.8 km outside town, to the northwest
Abbey or priory · CadwNeath Abbey5 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumAfan Forest Mining museum2.5 km outside town, to the eastGardenGardenGnoll Estate Country Park2.7 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttraction · National TrustAberdulais Tin Works and Waterfall4.2 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumAberdulais Falls Visitor Centre4.1 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Pontrhydyfen.
Richard Burton: 20th Century Fox, Public domain
Village in West Glamorgan, Wales
Pontrhydyfen is a built-up area of 823 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontrhydyfen | 823 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cwmavon | 4,524 | 1.4 | C− | B+ | C+ | D |
| Tonna | 2,665 | 3 | C | B− | B | C− |
| Baglan | 10,516 | 3.1 | C− | B+ | C | D |
| Neath | 40,738 | 3.5 | D | B | C− | D |
| Port Talbot | 31,557 | 3.6 | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Cilfrew | 2,178 | 3.7 | — | B | C+ | D− |
| Maesteg | 18,342 | 4.1 | D | A− | C− | D− |
Cilfrew has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
5 on Cadw’s list, 2 of them Grade II*. That is 2.5 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
By type: terraced houses £134,000 and semi-detached houses £173,250.
Band D council tax in Pontrhydyfen is £2,541 for 2026–27, more than in 74% of UK towns (the Neath Port Talbot council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
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.