Merthyr Tydfil: local statistics
Merthyr Tydfil is a principal council area in Wales, home to an estimated 58,362 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 Merthyr Tydfil, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
A typical home in Merthyr Tydfil cost £156,721 in July 2026, on the UK House Price Index, a rise of 4.0% in twelve months. Among council areas that puts it the 2nd lowest of the 22 council areas in Wales (average for Wales: £215,037). This July figure is the highest in the series, 67% up on July 2016. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Merthyr Tydfil (£35,152) gives a ratio of 4.5. That ratio is the 2nd lowest ratio of the 22 council areas in Wales.
A Band D home in Merthyr Tydfil pays an average of £2,593.60 in council tax in 2026-27, 5.3% more than in 2025-26. It is the highest of the 22 council areas in Wales.
A girl born in Merthyr Tydfil in 2022 to 2024 could expect to live 79.7 years and a boy 75.0 years, on the ONS's period measure (Wales: 82.2 and 78.3). For women that is 0.8 years less than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 2.1 less. It is the 2nd lowest for women in Wales.
1,655 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Merthyr Tydfil in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. There are 28 per 1,000 residents, the 3rd lowest in Wales.
58,362 people lived in Merthyr Tydfil in mid-2025, according to the ONS, down 0.6% on a year earlier. Over ten years, since mid-2015, it has fallen by 1.0% (Wales: +3.3%). That is 18th of 22 in Wales, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the lowest in the series.
Full-time employees living in Merthyr Tydfil earned a median £685.30 a week in April 2025 (£35,152 a year). It is the 18th highest of 22 in Wales, and 4.7% less than across Wales. Jobs based in Merthyr Tydfil paid a median £619.20 a week, £66.10 less than the figure for people who live there. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £423.20: a change of +62% before inflation.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 70.0% of Merthyr Tydfil residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 4.9 points either way, against 72.1% across Wales. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 65.7% to 74.0%.
The claimant count for Merthyr Tydfil stood at 1,240 in August 2026, or 3.4% of residents aged 16 to 64 (Wales: 3.4%). That compares with 3.2% a year before. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 3.1% (July 2025) and 5.3% (August 2021).
The Home Office does not publish recorded crime for Merthyr Tydfil on its own for recent years, so this page gives the figure for the South Wales police force area: 106,881 offences excluding fraud in the year to March 2026, 3,218 fewer than the year before.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 58,922 |
| 2016 | 59,247 |
| 2017 | 59,337 |
| 2018 | 59,349 |
| 2019 | 59,255 |
| 2020 | 59,194 |
| 2021 | 58,869 |
| 2022 | 58,866 |
| 2023 | 58,735 |
| 2024 | 58,722 |
| 2025 | 58,362 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £93,930 |
| July 2017 | £91,834 |
| July 2018 | £97,463 |
| July 2019 | £103,005 |
| July 2020 | £103,467 |
| July 2021 | £122,638 |
| July 2022 | £141,240 |
| July 2023 | £148,943 |
| July 2024 | £143,948 |
| July 2025 | £150,623 |
| July 2026 | £156,721 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £423.20 a week |
| 2016 | £445.80 a week |
| 2017 | £463.30 a week |
| 2018 | £440.60 a week |
| 2019 | £502.80 a week |
| 2020 | £520.70 a week |
| 2021 | £529.30 a week |
| 2022 | £540.10 a week |
| 2023 | £621.40 a week |
| 2024 | £629.60 a week |
| 2025 | £685.30 a week |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 66.2% |
| 2016/17 | 69.0% |
| 2017/18 | 74.0% |
| 2018/19 | 72.2% |
| 2019/20 | 68.5% |
| 2020/21 | 65.7% |
| 2021/22 | 66.9% |
| 2022/23 | 68.4% |
| 2023/24 | 71.2% |
| 2024/25 | 71.6% |
| 2025/26 | 70.0% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 80.5 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 80.5 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 80.5 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 80.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 80.5 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 80.5 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 80.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 79.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 79.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 79.9 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 79.7 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 1,595 |
| 2017 | 1,710 |
| 2018 | 1,685 |
| 2019 | 1,695 |
| 2020 | 1,710 |
| 2021 | 1,720 |
| 2022 | 1,680 |
| 2023 | 1,660 |
| 2024 | 1,630 |
| 2025 | 1,620 |
| 2026 | 1,655 |
Questions about Merthyr Tydfil
What is the average house price in Merthyr Tydfil?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £156,721.
How much is Band D council tax in Merthyr Tydfil?
£2,593.60 on average for 2026-27, including police, fire and parish precepts (Welsh Government).
What is life expectancy in Merthyr Tydfil?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 75.0 years for men and 79.7 for women.
What is the population of Merthyr Tydfil?
The ONS estimates 58,362 people lived in Merthyr Tydfil in mid-2025.
What is the average salary in Merthyr Tydfil?
£685.30 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Merthyr Tydfil?
The ONS claimant count was 1,240 in August 2026, 3.4% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
Who has power over Merthyr Tydfil
Every body that makes decisions for Merthyr Tydfil, 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
- Merthyr Tydfil council this page
- Merthyr Tydfil 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
- Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare: Gerald Jones (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 (police force area): This figure covers the whole South Wales police force area, not just Merthyr Tydfil, because the Home Office tables do not give Merthyr Tydfil on its own. It is the sum of the force's partnership rows, including offences not assigned to a partnership, and excludes fraud.
More on this area and these figures
- Figures for Wales
- UK figures: UK average house price · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK population
- Other council areas in Wales: Blaenau Gwent · Ceredigion · Denbighshire · Isle of Anglesey · Monmouthshire · Torfaen
Related questions
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.