Where on the UK
Avg rent
£740/mo+5.2%
Median across council areas
Median salary
£30,754
Annual, residence-based
Council tax
Band I
Most common band across the region
Population
3,186,581
Sum across local areas
council areas
22
1,917 sub-areas
Stations
300
National Rail
Liveability
72/100
Composite (median council area)
Safety
71/100
Higher is safer
Transport
33/100
Transit + walk
Good schools
0%
Within 2 km, Ofsted Good+
Gigabit
100%
Premises gigabit-capable
Greenspace
327m
Median distance to park
Compare
Cities in Wales
Tap any row or map polygon to drill into that city — hovering on desktop will preview the link before you click. Switch the tab strip above the table to focus on Affordability, Schools, Transport, Safety or Wealth — the columns swap and the default sort follows.
300 National Rail stations in region
Avg rent, scores and YoY change at a glance.
| RegionWales | £740 | +5.2% | 72 | 71 |
| Powys | £621 | +10.3% | 37 | 76 |
| Blaenau Gwent | £668 | +7.3% | 93 | 74 |
| Neath Port Talbot | £668 | +9.2% | 79 | 62 |
| Carmarthenshire | £668 | +5.3% | 71 | 71 |
| Gwynedd | £685 | +1.6% | 67 | 67 |
| Pembrokeshire | £687 | +6.1% | 57 | 67 |
| Denbighshire | £701 | +6.7% | 61 | 59 |
| Isle of Anglesey | £710 | +3.9% | 55 | 72 |
| Ceredigion | £710 | +5.2% | 62 | 82 |
| Caerphilly | £736 | +8.2% | 94 | 80 |
| Bridgend | £736 | +7.9% | 77 | 68 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | £744 | +5.2% | 84 | 56 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £753 | +4.5% | 88 | 61 |
| Wrexham | £759 | +5.0% | 72 | 56 |
| Conwy | £776 | +1.5% | 72 | 54 |
| Flintshire | £778 | +4.1% | 69 | 77 |
| Swansea | £833 | +6.1% | 72 | 71 |
| Torfaen | £853 | +3.0% | 79 | 77 |
| Newport | £953 | +4.3% | 72 | 79 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | £982 | +7.0% | 72 | 78 |
| Monmouthshire | £987 | +3.6% | 44 | 95 |
| Cardiff | £1,157 | +4.8% | 60 | 68 |
Source: ONS, MHCLG, DfT, DESNZ and Defra — sub-area data combined into city-level medians. Rail stations from Network Rail.
Quick rankings
Find a place to live in Wales
One-click pages ranked by the metric most people search for. Each one carries the same map and table — just pre-sorted and pre-tabbed.
FAQ
Frequently asked about Wales
Short answers to the questions we get most often. Each one is anchored in the data above.
- What is the average rent in Wales?
- The median monthly rent across Wales is £744, drawn from the ONS Index of Private Housing Rental Prices. Individual cities and neighbourhoods vary substantially — see the city table above for the spread.
- What is the average salary in Wales?
- Median resident annual salary in Wales is £30,754 (ONS ASHE 2025). This is salary for residents of Wales, not for people who commute in to work there.
- Is Wales a safe place to live?
- Wales has an average safety score of 71/100 across its constituent neighbourhoods. The score is based on police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, normalised against Wales + Wales as a whole. Higher = safer.
- What's the best place to live in Wales?
- It depends on what you weight. By our composite liveability score (which blends safety, transport, schools and rent affordability), the highest-ranked cities in Wales are listed in the city table above. For ranked shortlists by single criteria, see the Quick rankings section.
- How many cities are in Wales?
- Wales contains 22 council areas (cities and districts) covering 1,917 sub-areas. Browse the full list in the table above.
- Is gigabit broadband available across Wales?
- 100% of premises in Wales are gigabit-capable per Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Coverage is patchier in older terraces and rural fringes — check your specific postcode for service availability.
- Where can I see how Wales compares to other UK regions?
- The country-level overview at /gb sorts every region by rent, salary and safety. From there you can drill into any other region for the same view of cities, neighbourhoods and shortlists.