City

Cardiff area guide

Who lives in Cardiff, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Cardiff
Region: Wales
Population: 360,312 (2024)

CardiffCity

At a glance

What Cardiff is like

Cardiff is a city in Wales. It is home to about 360,312 people across 138,102 households. 57.5% of households own their home, 24.5% rent privately and 17.4% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 50.5% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Wales. Higher-harm crime is above the England and Wales average.

Scores

How Cardiff compares

Headline figures for Cardiff, set against Wales as a whole.

AffluenceMore

5.7/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in Wales) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

8/ 10

Higher than most: 35.0 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year vs 31.1 nationally.

TransportMore

5.0/ 10

Good: 1 station within a mile, 53 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

133

133 schools in Cardiff. None has a published inspection grade.

Household incomeMore

£50,357

Average annual income before tax, higher than 43% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Cardiff differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
24.5% of households rent privately, against 17% across Wales. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
17.1% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across Wales. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
Higher crime than mostLook closer
35.0 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year, against 31.1 across England and Wales.
04
A young populationPositive
26.1% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 18.4% across Wales.

Questions

Cardiff FAQs

Is Cardiff a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 5.7 out of 10 on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025, where 10 is the least deprived in Wales. Higher-harm crime runs at 35.0 per 1,000 people a year, band 8 of 10 nationally. Transport connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10 (good).

Is Cardiff safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Higher-harm crime (violence, robbery, burglary, vehicle crime and weapons offences) runs at 35.0 offences per 1,000 people a year around Cardiff, above the 31.1 average across England and Wales, band 8 of 10.

Who lives in Cardiff?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 10.7% of residents. 57.5% of households own their home. The most common property type is terraced (30.6%).

How well connected is Cardiff?

Connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10.

There are 53 bus stops within 800m and 1 station or tram stop within a mile, scoring 5.0 out of 10 (good). The nearest station is Cathays Rail Station, 0.8 miles away.

Sources: Census 2021 (ONS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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