Blaenau Gwent: local statistics
Blaenau Gwent is a principal council area in Wales, home to an estimated 67,593 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Blaenau Gwent, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The average house price in Blaenau Gwent was £144,294 in July 2026, up 4.5% on July 2025. Among council areas that puts it the lowest in Wales; the average for Wales was £215,037. This July figure is the highest in the series, 83% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Blaenau Gwent (£34,797) gives a ratio of 4.1. That ratio is the lowest ratio in Wales.
Police recorded 7,772 crimes in Blaenau Gwent in the year to March 2026, 115.0 for every 1,000 residents, the highest rate in Wales. A year earlier it was 117.6. In the year to March 2016 it was 69.6 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Blaenau Gwent had a life expectancy at birth of 79.2 years; for men it was 75.8, compared with 82.2 and 78.3 years across Wales. Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by -1.1 years for women and -0.3 for men. It is the lowest for women of the 22 council areas in Wales.
Blaenau Gwent had an estimated 67,593 residents in mid-2025, down 0.2% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has fallen by 1.2%; Wales grew by 3.3% over the same years. That is the 3rd slowest growth of the 22 council areas in Wales. The series peaked at 68,395 in mid-2015.
3.9% of Blaenau Gwent residents aged 16 to 64 (1,615 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026 (Wales: 3.4%). The rate was the same a year earlier. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.8% (July 2026) and 5.9% (August 2021).
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Blaenau Gwent is £2,531.26, up £102.83 on 2025-26. That makes it the 3rd highest of the 22 council areas in Wales.
The ONS counted 1,680 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Blaenau Gwent in March 2026, 6% more than in 2016. There are 25 per 1,000 residents, the lowest in Wales.
An estimated 63.0% of people aged 16 to 64 living in Blaenau Gwent were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey, with a margin of error of 5.7 points either way; the figure for Wales was 72.1%. Its lowest reading in the series was 63.0% and its highest 72.9%.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Blaenau Gwent was £711.20 in April 2025 (£34,797 a year). That is 1.1% below the figure for Wales and mid-table in Wales, 12th of 22. For full-time jobs located in Blaenau Gwent the median is £670.30 a week (−£40.90 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £403.50: a change of +76% before inflation.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 68,395 |
| 2016 | 68,135 |
| 2017 | 67,829 |
| 2018 | 67,566 |
| 2019 | 67,382 |
| 2020 | 67,219 |
| 2021 | 66,989 |
| 2022 | 66,919 |
| 2023 | 67,485 |
| 2024 | 67,712 |
| 2025 | 67,593 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £78,710 |
| July 2017 | £79,917 |
| July 2018 | £83,735 |
| July 2019 | £91,771 |
| July 2020 | £96,002 |
| July 2021 | £108,398 |
| July 2022 | £127,818 |
| July 2023 | £126,604 |
| July 2024 | £129,688 |
| July 2025 | £138,048 |
| July 2026 | £144,294 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £403.50 a week |
| 2016 | £438.50 a week |
| 2017 | £489.90 a week |
| 2018 | £484.50 a week |
| 2019 | £455.10 a week |
| 2020 | £478.30 a week |
| 2021 | £522.60 a week |
| 2022 | £579.00 a week |
| 2023 | £619.50 a week |
| 2024 | £686.20 a week |
| 2025 | £711.20 a week |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 69.6 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 74.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 90.2 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 107.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 101.8 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 92.4 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 107.0 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 119.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 113.3 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 117.6 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 115.0 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 64.5% |
| 2016/17 | 66.8% |
| 2017/18 | 67.2% |
| 2018/19 | 70.4% |
| 2019/20 | 70.2% |
| 2020/21 | 68.9% |
| 2021/22 | 72.9% |
| 2022/23 | 70.1% |
| 2023/24 | 71.3% |
| 2024/25 | 66.4% |
| 2025/26 | 63.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 80.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 80.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 80.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 80.4 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 80.4 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 80.1 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 79.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 79.0 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 78.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 79.0 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 79.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 1,590 |
| 2017 | 1,635 |
| 2018 | 1,600 |
| 2019 | 1,600 |
| 2020 | 1,620 |
| 2021 | 1,710 |
| 2022 | 1,670 |
| 2023 | 1,690 |
| 2024 | 1,660 |
| 2025 | 1,665 |
| 2026 | 1,680 |
Questions about Blaenau Gwent
What is the average house price in Blaenau Gwent?
£144,294 in July 2026, on HM Land Registry's UK House Price Index (+4.5% on a year).
What is the crime rate in Blaenau Gwent?
115.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is life expectancy in Blaenau Gwent?
79.2 years for women and 75.8 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
What is the population of Blaenau Gwent?
The ONS estimates 67,593 people lived in Blaenau Gwent in mid-2025.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Blaenau Gwent?
The ONS claimant count was 1,615 in August 2026, 3.9% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
How much is Band D council tax in Blaenau Gwent?
£2,531.26 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Welsh Government).
What is the average salary in Blaenau Gwent?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Blaenau Gwent was £711.20 a week in April 2025 (£34,797 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Who has power over Blaenau Gwent
Every body that makes decisions for Blaenau Gwent, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Blaenau Gwent council this page
- Blaenau Gwent in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- Gwent Police police force
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board NHS
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Senedd and Welsh Government makes law for Wales on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney: Nick Smith (Labour) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Figures for Wales
- UK figures: UK average house price · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime · Life expectancy at birth (UK)
- Other council areas in Wales: Ceredigion · Denbighshire · Isle of Anglesey · Merthyr Tydfil · Monmouthshire · Torfaen
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.