Neighbourhood · Merthyr Tydfil · Wales
Dowlais
Merthyr Tydfil 002 · 6 sub-areas · 9,341 residents
Verdict
How are these scored? →Best for Couples (67/100)Watch-out: Families (41/100)Liveability 77/100 · Top quartileResidential
Dowlais is a settled residential pocket of Merthyr Tydfil. The bigger gravitational centre is Cardiff, around 88 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for.
Liveability
77/100
Top quartile
Overview
Overview
What's it like to live in Dowlais?
A snapshot of Dowlais
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £753 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Dowlais in Merthyr Tydfil
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FAQ
Frequently asked
- What's the median rent in Dowlais?
- The median monthly rent across Dowlais is £753.
- How safe is Dowlais?
- Dowlais has a safety score of — out of 100, where higher is safer. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, inverted.
- How well-connected is Dowlais?
- Transport score: — out of 100. Combines walking time to the nearest rail station, walking time to the nearest metro stop, and public-transport time to clusters with 5,000+ jobs. The nearest rail station is roughly 31 minutes' walk.
- What schools are near Dowlais?
- There are 1 schools within 2 km of Dowlais, of which 0% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 41110 m away.
- What is the council tax band in Dowlais?
- The most common council tax band in Dowlais is A. Council tax is set by Merthyr Tydfil council and applies to every property in the area.
- How long is the commute from Dowlais to London?
- By the fastest direct train, the journey from Dowlais to central London is approximately 172 minutes. This is the fastest no-change rail journey from the local area centroid; door-to-door times will vary with walking time to the station.
- Is gigabit broadband available in Dowlais?
- 100% of premises in Dowlais are gigabit-capable according to Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Most properties can already buy gigabit packages.
- What is the average property price in Dowlais?
- The average property price across Merthyr Tydfil (the local authority covering Dowlais) is approximately £149,339, per HM Land Registry's House Price Index. Per-local area prices vary; see the cost-of-living section for medians by property type.
- Is Dowlais a commuter town or workplace hub?
- Commuter town — most working residents travel out for work. (0.39 jobs per working-age resident. Median resident salary £31,504.)
- Which local areas are part of Dowlais?
- Dowlais contains 6 local areas: Merthyr Tydfil 002F, Merthyr Tydfil 002E, Merthyr Tydfil 002C, Merthyr Tydfil 002D, Merthyr Tydfil 002A…
- Where is Dowlais?
- Dowlais sits within Merthyr Tydfil in the Wales region.
FAQ
Frequently asked about Dowlais
Short answers anchored in the data above. Each link goes to the relevant section or methodology page.
- What is the average rent in Dowlais?
- The estimated median monthly rent in Dowlais is £753. This is derived from the council-area ONS rental figure scaled by the local sale-price gradient — see the Cost section for the breakdown by bedroom count and the affordability ratio against local salaries.
- Is Dowlais a safe place to live?
- Dowlais has a safety score of 60/100. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crime per 1,000 residents, inverted so 100 is the safest 1% of England + Wales. The Safety section below shows the breakdown by category.
- What schools are near Dowlais?
- 0% of schools within 2 km of Dowlais are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The Schools section lists individual schools with inspection ratings.
- How long is the commute from Dowlais?
- Public-transport commute time from Dowlais to central London is approximately 172 minutes. The Transport section has commute times to every major UK city hub.
- How is Dowlais different from the rest of Merthyr Tydfil?
- Dowlais contains 6 sub-areas. The "Sub-areas" section below lets you drill into each one individually — they often vary by 20%+ on rent and demographics within the same neighbourhood.
- Where does Dowlais rank in Merthyr Tydfil?
- Dowlais scores 77/100 on our composite liveability index. To see how it stacks up against every other neighbourhood in Merthyr Tydfil, see the Cities table on the Merthyr Tydfil page.
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