Cardiff: local statistics
Cardiff is a principal council area in Wales, home to an estimated 381,516 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 Cardiff, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
Average Band D council tax in Cardiff is £2,013.18 for 2026-27, up £87.00 on 2025-26. It is the lowest in Wales.
Homes in Cardiff sold for an average of £272,252 in July 2026, a rise of 2.7% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 3rd highest of the 22 council areas in Wales (average for Wales: £215,037). This July figure is the highest in the series, 44% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Cardiff (£36,946) gives a ratio of 7.4. That ratio is the 3rd highest ratio of the 22 council areas in Wales.
381,516 people lived in Cardiff in mid-2025, according to the ONS, down 0.1% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has grown by 8.5%; Wales grew by 3.3% over the same years. That is the 2nd fastest growth of the 22 council areas in Wales. The series peaked at 382,028 in mid-2024.
3.9% of Cardiff residents aged 16 to 64 (10,115 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026; the rate for Wales was 3.4%. Twelve months before, it was 3.7%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.5% (January 2024) and 5.3% (August 2021).
The ONS counted 15,460 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Cardiff in March 2026, 6% more than in 2016. That is 41 for every 1,000 residents, mid-table in Wales, 10th of 22.
In the year to March 2026, 36,006 offences were recorded by police in Cardiff: 94.4 per 1,000 people, the 5th highest rate of 20 in Wales. A year earlier it was 100.2. The highest rate in the series was 111.4, in the year to March 2019. Fraud is not included.
In April 2025 the middle full-time earner living in Cardiff took home £712.00 a week before tax, or £36,946 over a year. It is close to the middle of the 22 council areas in Wales (11th highest), and 1.0% less than across Wales. For full-time jobs located in Cardiff the median is £736.10 a week (+£24.10 on the residents' figure). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £519.00: a change of +37% before inflation.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Cardiff had a life expectancy at birth of 82.2 years; for men it was 78.5 (Wales: 82.2 and 78.3). For women that is 0.5 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.3 more. It is mid-table in Wales, 11th of 22.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 73.7% of Cardiff residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.1 points either way; the figure for Wales was 72.1%. Its lowest reading in the series was 69.0% and its highest 76.5%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 351,600 |
| 2016 | 352,982 |
| 2017 | 354,348 |
| 2018 | 355,125 |
| 2019 | 357,137 |
| 2020 | 360,287 |
| 2021 | 359,824 |
| 2022 | 369,640 |
| 2023 | 379,539 |
| 2024 | 382,028 |
| 2025 | 381,516 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £189,619 |
| July 2017 | £195,348 |
| July 2018 | £204,670 |
| July 2019 | £206,242 |
| July 2020 | £211,705 |
| July 2021 | £234,986 |
| July 2022 | £255,778 |
| July 2023 | £261,359 |
| July 2024 | £262,143 |
| July 2025 | £265,146 |
| July 2026 | £272,252 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £519.00 a week |
| 2016 | £534.40 a week |
| 2017 | £539.20 a week |
| 2018 | £536.60 a week |
| 2019 | £582.60 a week |
| 2020 | £550.60 a week |
| 2021 | £574.90 a week |
| 2022 | £626.60 a week |
| 2023 | £665.00 a week |
| 2024 | £693.40 a week |
| 2025 | £712.00 a week |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 90.3 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 96.5 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 105.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 111.4 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 108.0 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 88.0 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 100.8 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 103.3 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 104.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 100.2 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 94.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 69.1% |
| 2016/17 | 69.0% |
| 2017/18 | 71.9% |
| 2018/19 | 75.6% |
| 2019/20 | 73.6% |
| 2020/21 | 75.0% |
| 2021/22 | 74.6% |
| 2022/23 | 70.8% |
| 2023/24 | 76.5% |
| 2024/25 | 73.2% |
| 2025/26 | 73.7% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 82.7 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 82.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 82.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 82.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 82.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 82.8 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 82.6 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 82.5 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 82.3 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 82.4 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 82.2 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 14,570 |
| 2017 | 14,905 |
| 2018 | 14,815 |
| 2019 | 14,960 |
| 2020 | 15,165 |
| 2021 | 15,490 |
| 2022 | 15,835 |
| 2023 | 15,855 |
| 2024 | 15,185 |
| 2025 | 15,230 |
| 2026 | 15,460 |
Questions about Cardiff
How much is Band D council tax in Cardiff?
The Welsh Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,013.18 for 2026-27.
What is the average house price in Cardiff?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £272,252.
What is the population of Cardiff?
381,516 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Cardiff?
10,115 in August 2026 (3.9% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
What is the crime rate in Cardiff?
94.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average salary in Cardiff?
£712.00 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
What is life expectancy in Cardiff?
82.2 years for women and 78.5 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Cardiff
Every body that makes decisions for Cardiff, 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
- Cardiff council this page
- Cardiff 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
- Cardiff East: Jo Stevens (Labour) MP
- Cardiff North: Anna McMorrin (Labour) MP
- Cardiff South and Penarth: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op)) MP
- Cardiff West: Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (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 · UK population · UK unemployment rate
- Other council areas in Wales: Caerphilly · Carmarthenshire · Flintshire · Newport · Rhondda Cynon Taf · Swansea
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- Which council am I in?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.