City

Swansea area guide

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

Council: Swansea
Region: Wales
Population: 178,688 (2024)

SwanseaCity

At a glance

What Swansea is like

Swansea is a city in Wales. It is home to about 178,688 people across 74,395 households. 56.9% of households own their home, 20.4% rent privately and 22% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 46.7% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Wales. Higher-harm crime is broadly in line with the England and Wales average.

Scores

How Swansea compares

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

AffluenceMore

5.4/ 10

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

CrimeMore

7/ 10

Around the middle: 32.6 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year vs 31.1 nationally.

TransportMore

5.0/ 10

Good: 1 station within a mile, 59 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

63 schools in Swansea. None has a published inspection grade.

Household incomeMore

£43,908

Average annual income before tax, higher than 23% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Swansea differs most from the national average.

01
A student area
13.9% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across Wales. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
02
A young populationPositive
22.4% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 18.4% across Wales.
03
A big private rental marketPositive
20.4% of households rent privately, against 17% across Wales. Tenant demand is established here.

Questions

Swansea FAQs

Is Swansea a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 5.4 out of 10 on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025, where 10 is the least deprived in Wales. Higher-harm crime runs at 32.6 per 1,000 people a year, band 7 of 10 nationally. Transport connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10 (good).

Is Swansea safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Higher-harm crime (violence, robbery, burglary, vehicle crime and weapons offences) runs at 32.6 offences per 1,000 people a year around Swansea, broadly in line with the 31.1 average across England and Wales, band 7 of 10.

Who lives in Swansea?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 9.5% of residents. 56.9% of households own their home. The most common property type is semi-detached (32.6%).

How well connected is Swansea?

Connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10.

There are 59 bus stops within 800m and 1 station or tram stop within a mile, scoring 5.0 out of 10 (good). The nearest station is Swansea 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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