Official statistics · 12 of 13 measures compare directly
Cardiff and Swale compared
Every measure Civometry publishes for both areas, side by side. Each figure is its publisher’s own for the period named beside it, and the difference between the two is stated in the middle. Neither area is called better: which direction counts as better depends on what you are asking, and the page does not decide that for you. Where the two figures are not comparable — a different period, or nothing published for one side — the row says so instead of showing a difference.
Cardiff
W06000015 · South Wales Police
Swale
E07000113 · Kent Police
Getting better or worse
0
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
1 more in Cardiff
−1
Civometry calculation on Home Office, ONS, HM Land Registry and MHCLG figures
Population
381,516
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
220,845 more in Cardiff
160,671
ONS: Population estimates for the UK and constituent countries: historical time series
Median annual pay, full-time employees
£36,946
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
£1,486 more in Swale
£38,432
ONS: ASHE Table 8.7a: annual gross pay by place of residence
Average house price
£270,094
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
£28,300 more in Swale
£298,394
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
All private rents
£1,169
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
£66 more in Cardiff
£1,103
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
All claimants
3.9%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
0.4 percentage points higher in Cardiff
3.5%
ONS: Claimant count by sex and age (Nomis)
Net international migration
+1,000
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
921 more in Cardiff
+79
ONS: Components of population change by local authority (ONS mid-year estimates, sheet MYE3)
Recorded crime
108.0
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
9.4 more in Cardiff
98.6
Home Office: data.police.uk street-level crime, cumulative monthly archive
House price to pay ratio
7.3 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
0.5 years more in Swale
7.8 years
HM Land Registry: UK House Price Index: average prices
Annual rent as a share of pay
38.0%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
3.6 percentage points higher in Cardiff
34.4%
ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics
Band D council tax as a share of pay
No published figure
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
No published figure for Cardiff.
6.26%
MHCLG: Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027
Mean domestic gas use per meter
10,534
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
384 more in Cardiff
10,149
DESNZ: Regional and local authority gas consumption statistics
Mean domestic electricity use per meter
3,063
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
323 more in Swale
3,386
DESNZ: Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics
In one sentence
In the latest published figures, population was 381,516 in Cardiff and 160,671 in Swale (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £36,946 in Cardiff and £38,432 in Swale (2025); and average house price was £270,094 in Cardiff and £298,394 in Swale (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
In the latest published figures, population was 381,516 in Cardiff and 160,671 in Swale (mid-2025); median annual pay, full-time employees was £36,946 in Cardiff and £38,432 in Swale (2025); and average house price was £270,094 in Cardiff and £298,394 in Swale (June 2026). (Civometry, from official statistics; each figure is the publisher's own.)
Recorded crime by category
Offences per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, from the same archive and the same window for both areas.
| Category | Cardiff per 1,000 | offences | Swale per 1,000 | offences | E&W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 108.0 | 41,199 | 98.6 | 15,839 | 97.4 |
| Bicycle theft | 2.1 | 785 | 0.5 | 77 | 0.8 |
| Burglary | 3.2 | 1,238 | 2.3 | 373 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 8.0 | 3,069 | 9.6 | 1,537 | 6.9 |
| Drugs | 3.1 | 1,201 | 2.4 | 390 | 3.4 |
| Other crime | 2.2 | 852 | 3.1 | 496 | 2.2 |
| Other theft | 6.0 | 2,280 | 5.7 | 909 | 6.5 |
| Possession of weapons | 1.2 | 464 | 1.0 | 162 | 1.0 |
| Public disorder and weapons | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Public order | 11.4 | 4,357 | 3.7 | 592 | 6.8 |
| Robbery | 1.5 | 579 | 0.7 | 112 | 1.4 |
| Shoplifting | 12.8 | 4,902 | 7.9 | 1,274 | 8.3 |
| Theft from the person | 0.9 | 346 | 0.2 | 33 | 1.7 |
| Vehicle crime | 8.2 | 3,129 | 3.9 | 623 | 5.0 |
| Violence and sexual offences | 34.3 | 13,082 | 35.5 | 5,704 | 34.7 |
| Violent crime | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Police-recorded crime counts offences reported to and recorded by the police. It is affected by whether people report crime and by changes in police recording practice, so it does not measure all crime that happens. The Crime Survey for England and Wales is the better guide to long-term trends in the crimes it covers. Police recorded crime is not designated as National Statistics.
What this comparison rests on
Two figures are only subtracted when they are the same measure over the same period. Populations differ (381,516 and 160,671 residents on the latest estimates used here), so counts are shown alongside rates rather than instead of them. Nothing on this page is weighted, indexed or scored: every difference is one published number minus another, and the rows that cannot be compared say why.