Bridgend: local statistics
Bridgend is a principal council area in Wales, home to an estimated 146,986 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 Bridgend, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Average Band D council tax in Bridgend is £2,477.99 for 2026-27, 5.1% more than in 2025-26. It is the 4th highest of 22 in Wales.
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Bridgend was £737.70 in April 2025, or £37,002 over a year. It is the 5th highest of all 22 council areas in Wales, and 2.6% more than across Wales. Jobs based in Bridgend paid a median £719.10 a week, £18.60 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £500.50: a change of +47% before inflation.
The claimant count for Bridgend stood at 2,680 in August 2026, or 3.0% of residents aged 16 to 64; the rate for Wales was 3.4%. A year earlier the rate was 2.8%. The five-year high was 4.3% (August 2021); the low was 2.7% (April 2024).
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 69.0% of Bridgend residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.6 points either way; the figure for Wales was 72.1%. Its lowest reading in the series was 62.2% and its highest 77.0%.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Bridgend had a life expectancy at birth of 81.9 years; for men it was 78.1 (Wales: 82.2 and 78.3). For women that is 0.2 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.9 more. It is the 15th highest for women of 22 in Wales.
The ONS estimates that 146,986 people lived in Bridgend in mid-2025, down 0.1% on a year earlier. That is 4,809 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 3.4%, against +3.3% for Wales as a whole. That is the 9th fastest growth of all 22 council areas in Wales. The series peaked at 147,088 in mid-2024.
4,805 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Bridgend in March 2026, 6% more than in 2016. That is 33 for every 1,000 residents, the 15th highest of 22 in Wales.
A typical home in Bridgend cost £209,569 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 3.7% in twelve months. It ranks as mid-table in Wales, 11th of 22 (average for Wales: £215,037). Prices are 64% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Bridgend (£37,002) gives a ratio of 5.7. That ratio is the 14th highest ratio of all 22 council areas in Wales.
In the year to March 2026, 10,342 offences were recorded by police in Bridgend: 70.4 per 1,000 people, close to the middle of all 20 council areas in Wales (11th highest rate). A year earlier it was 67.2. The highest rate in the series was 72.4, in the year to March 2024. Fraud is not included.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 142,177 |
| 2016 | 142,887 |
| 2017 | 143,355 |
| 2018 | 143,583 |
| 2019 | 144,500 |
| 2020 | 145,434 |
| 2021 | 145,738 |
| 2022 | 146,074 |
| 2023 | 146,692 |
| 2024 | 147,088 |
| 2025 | 146,986 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £127,975 |
| July 2017 | £135,536 |
| July 2018 | £138,044 |
| July 2019 | £145,674 |
| July 2020 | £151,644 |
| July 2021 | £171,712 |
| July 2022 | £192,643 |
| July 2023 | £191,821 |
| July 2024 | £196,459 |
| July 2025 | £202,086 |
| July 2026 | £209,569 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £500.50 a week |
| 2016 | £508.00 a week |
| 2017 | £511.40 a week |
| 2018 | £552.50 a week |
| 2019 | £528.20 a week |
| 2020 | £535.00 a week |
| 2021 | £577.50 a week |
| 2022 | £609.10 a week |
| 2023 | £650.20 a week |
| 2024 | £700.30 a week |
| 2025 | £737.70 a week |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 56.2 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 57.8 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 64.4 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 70.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 71.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 58.8 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 61.7 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 63.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 72.4 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 67.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 70.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 72.8% |
| 2016/17 | 69.7% |
| 2017/18 | 71.4% |
| 2018/19 | 70.8% |
| 2019/20 | 77.0% |
| 2020/21 | 71.6% |
| 2021/22 | 71.8% |
| 2022/23 | 72.2% |
| 2023/24 | 62.2% |
| 2024/25 | 73.5% |
| 2025/26 | 69.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 81.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 81.8 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 81.8 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 81.2 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 81.1 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 81.1 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 81.1 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 81.3 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 81.6 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 81.8 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 81.9 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 4,540 |
| 2017 | 4,600 |
| 2018 | 4,665 |
| 2019 | 4,760 |
| 2020 | 4,880 |
| 2021 | 4,895 |
| 2022 | 5,140 |
| 2023 | 5,095 |
| 2024 | 4,850 |
| 2025 | 4,795 |
| 2026 | 4,805 |
Questions about Bridgend
How much is Band D council tax in Bridgend?
The Welsh Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,477.99 for 2026-27.
What is the average salary in Bridgend?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Bridgend was £737.70 a week in April 2025 (£37,002 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Bridgend?
2,680 in August 2026 (3.0% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is life expectancy in Bridgend?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 78.1 years for men and 81.9 for women.
What is the population of Bridgend?
146,986 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
What is the average house price in Bridgend?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £209,569.
What is the crime rate in Bridgend?
70.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
Who has power over Bridgend
Every body that makes decisions for Bridgend, 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
- Bridgend council this page
- Bridgend in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Senedd and Welsh Government makes law for Wales on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Aberafan Maesteg: Stephen Kinnock (Labour) MP
- Bridgend: Chris Elmore (Labour) MP
- Rhondda and Ogmore: Chris Bryant (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 weekly earnings growth · UK unemployment rate · UK employment rate
- Other council areas in Wales: Flintshire · Neath Port Talbot · Pembrokeshire · Powys · Vale of Glamorgan · Wrexham
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average salary in my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.