Cardiff

Key figures

12 of 13 measures have a published figure for Cardiff · no figure for band d council tax as a share of pay. Each figure is the publisher’s own, for the period named beside it.

Why the population is changing

The ONS breaks the year’s population change into its components (Year to mid-2025). These are its published figures for Cardiff, not our estimates.

• 3,682 births and 3,075 deaths: natural change added 607 people.
• Moves within the UK (net) reduced the population by 2,165.
• International migration (net) added 1,000 people.
• The ONS’s balancing item (“Other”, mainly armed forces and prisoner adjustments) added 46.
• Altogether the population fell by 512 over the year (the sum of the components above — our addition of the ONS’s published figures).

Each component is a series in its own right: births, deaths, moves within the UK and international migration.

Population change, year by year

The same decomposition for every published year in Cardiff: births and deaths, net moves within the UK, net international migration, and the ONS’s balancing item.

Years to mid-2024 are the ONS’s rebased back series, made consistent with Census 2021 — its figures deliberately differ from the estimates published at the time. Every cell is a published figure; the total is the sum of net moves, natural change and other, which is our addition. A dash is a year the source does not publish for this area, never a zero.

Rates per 1,000 residents

The same population flows, adjusted for Cardiff’s size, so they can be compared with any other area’s: each year’s flow divided by the population that mid-year, times 1,000.

A Civometry calculation, not a published figure: ONS publishes these flows and the population, but not the rates. Net rates are signed — below zero means more left than arrived. Rates are crude, not age-standardised, so areas with very different age structures still differ for reasons size cannot remove. Each link shows the full recipe and every year.

Pay against housing costs

How pay in Cardiff moved over its latest published year, beside how the cost of buying and renting moved over theirs. The three series come from different publishers on different timetables, so each row covers its own year, named in the row.

average house price and average private rent rose faster than pay over these periods.

Levels are the publishers’ own (ONS ASHE median annual pay for full-time employees living in the area; HM Land Registry UK House Price Index; ONS Price Index of Private Rents). The percentage changes are Civometry arithmetic on the two published values in each row. Pay is a survey of employees and says nothing about a particular household; one year is weather, not climate.

Who runs the council

Labour (2026) — Labour 50, Liberal Democrat 10, Conservative 9, Other and independent 6, Plaid Cymru 2, Green 1, Reform UK 1 of 79 seats.

Not an official statistic. Compiled by Open Council Data UK, an independent project, not by any government department: no official body publishes council political control. Councils are matched to GSS codes by name here; county councils and districts abolished before the current boundaries are not included. This is the one dataset on the site that is not read from an official publication, and every page that shows it says so. Source: Open Council Data UK (CC0).

Between the censuses

How Cardiff’s religion, ethnic-group and country-of-birth make-up changed between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, category by category. The two censuses compared.

Crime

41,199 recorded offences in the 12 months to June 2026, 108.0 per 1,000 residents. Full crime profile, by category and month.

Published for this area

• Median annual pay, full-time employees, by area of residence2025 · up 0.7% on a year earlier · ONS, published 23 October 2025£36,946
• Births by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 20263,682people
• Census 2011 country of birthCensus 2011 · ONS, published 30 January 2013346,090people
• Census 2021 country of birthCensus 2021 · ONS, published 2 November 2022362,308people
• Census 2011 ethnic group (detailed)Census 2011 · ONS, published 2 September 2026346,090people
• Census 2021 ethnic group (detailed)Census 2021 · ONS, published 2 September 2026362,310people
• Census 2011 ethnic group (five broad groups)Census 2011 · ONS, published 2 September 2026346,090people
• Census 2021 ethnic group (five broad groups)Census 2021 · ONS, published 2 September 2026362,310people
• Census 2021 ethnic group by age bandCensus 2021 · ONS, published 2 September 2026362,302people
• Census 2011 usual residentsCensus 2011 · ONS, published 2 September 2026346,090people
• Census 2021 usual residentsCensus 2021 · ONS, published 2 September 2026362,308people
• Census 2011 religionCensus 2011 · ONS, published 2 September 2026346,090people
• Census 2021 religionCensus 2021 · ONS, published 2 September 2026362,311people
• People claiming unemployment-related benefitsJuly 2026 · up 4.1% on a year earlier · ONS, published 18 August 202610,065people
• Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16 to 64July 2026 · up 0.2 points on a year earlier · ONS, published 18 August 20263.9%
• Deaths by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 20263,075people
• Mean domestic electricity consumption per meter2024 · DESNZ, published 18 December 20253,063kWh a year
• Mean domestic gas consumption per meter2024 · DESNZ, published 5 May 202610,534kWh a year
• House price annual changeJune 2026 · up 0.4 points on a year earlier · HM Land Registry, published 20 August 20262.1%
• Average house priceJune 2026 · up 2.1% on a year earlier · HM Land Registry, published 20 August 2026£270,094
• Net internal migration by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 2026-2,165people
• International migration into a local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 20267,587people
• Net international migration by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 20261,000people
• International migration out of a local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 20266,587people
• Births minus deaths by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 2026607people
• Other population change by local authorityYear to mid-2025 · ONS, published 29 July 202646people
• Population by local authorityMid-2024 · up 1.1% on a year earlier · ONS, published 26 September 2025383,919people
• Private rent annual changeJuly 2026 · up 0.0 points on a year earlier · ONS, published 19 August 20263.4%
• Average private rent a monthJuly 2026 · up 3.4% on a year earlier · ONS, published 19 August 2026£1,169
• Median weekly pay, full-time employees, by area of residence2025 · up 2.7% on a year earlier · ONS, published 23 October 2025£712

National figures that apply here

These are not measured for Cardiff; they are the figure for the nation or the UK, shown because they apply to everyone in it.

• Average Band D council tax (England average)Year ending March 2027 · up 4.9%£2,392
• Unemployment rate (UK)2026 Q2 · up 0.2 points4.9%
• Universal Credit caseload (Great Britain)Year ending March 2025 · up 16.3%5,473,000households
• Persistent absence (England)2024/25 academic year · down 1.8 points18.1%
• Average annual electricity bill (UK)2025 · down 1.3%£1,069

Then and now

The first and last years published for Cardiff, and the difference between the two. Both figures are published for this area; the difference is those two numbers subtracted, which you can check by hand.

• £23,7332008→£36,9462025

  Median annual pay, full-time employees, by area of residence

  In Cardiff, median annual pay, full-time employees, by area of residence rose from £23,733 in 2008 to £36,946 in 2025, a change of £13,213 or 55.7%, in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  £36,946 in 2025 − £23,733 in 2008 = £13,213, which is 55.7% of the figure for 2008.

  18 published years spanning 17 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Median annual pay, full-time employees, by area of residence, 2002 to 2023, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure. Cash terms: these are the amounts as published, not adjusted for inflation.

  In Cardiff, median annual pay, full-time employees, by area of residence rose from £23,733 in 2008 to £36,946 in 2025, a change of £13,213 or 55.7%, in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation (ONS).

  Copy with source

• £4532008→£7122025

  Median weekly pay, full-time employees, by area of residence

  In Cardiff, median weekly pay, full-time employees, by area of residence rose from £453 in 2008 to £712 in 2025, a change of £259 or 57.1%, in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  £712 in 2025 − £453 in 2008 = £259, which is 57.1% of the figure for 2008.

  The two ends are rounded for display. The published figures are 712.00 and 453.20, and 712.00 − 453.20 = 258.80.

  18 published years spanning 17 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Median weekly pay, full-time employees, by area of residence, 2002 to 2023, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure. Cash terms: these are the amounts as published, not adjusted for inflation.

  In Cardiff, median weekly pay, full-time employees, by area of residence rose from £453 in 2008 to £712 in 2025, a change of £259 or 57.1%, in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 327Year to mid-2012→-2,165Year to mid-2025

  Net internal migration by local authority

  In Cardiff, net internal migration by local authority fell from 327 in Year to mid-2012 to -2,165 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 2,492 or 762.1% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  -2,165 in Year to mid-2025 − 327 in Year to mid-2012 = −2,492, which is 762.1% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Internal migration net by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, net internal migration by local authority fell from 327 in Year to mid-2012 to -2,165 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 2,492 or 762.1% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 5,877Year to mid-2012→7,587Year to mid-2025

  International migration into a local authority

  In Cardiff, international migration into a local authority rose from 5,877 in Year to mid-2012 to 7,587 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,710 or 29.1% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  7,587 in Year to mid-2025 − 5,877 in Year to mid-2012 = 1,710, which is 29.1% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from International migration in by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, international migration into a local authority rose from 5,877 in Year to mid-2012 to 7,587 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,710 or 29.1% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 4,534Year to mid-2012→6,587Year to mid-2025

  International migration out of a local authority

  In Cardiff, international migration out of a local authority rose from 4,534 in Year to mid-2012 to 6,587 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 2,053 or 45.3% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  6,587 in Year to mid-2025 − 4,534 in Year to mid-2012 = 2,053, which is 45.3% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from International migration out by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, international migration out of a local authority rose from 4,534 in Year to mid-2012 to 6,587 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 2,053 or 45.3% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 1,343Year to mid-2012→1,000Year to mid-2025

  Net international migration by local authority

  In Cardiff, net international migration by local authority fell from 1,343 in Year to mid-2012 to 1,000 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 343 or 25.5% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  1,000 in Year to mid-2025 − 1,343 in Year to mid-2012 = −343, which is 25.5% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from International migration net by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, net international migration by local authority fell from 1,343 in Year to mid-2012 to 1,000 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 343 or 25.5% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 4,848Year to mid-2012→3,682Year to mid-2025

  Births by local authority

  In Cardiff, births by local authority fell from 4,848 in Year to mid-2012 to 3,682 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,166 or 24.1% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  3,682 in Year to mid-2025 − 4,848 in Year to mid-2012 = −1,166, which is 24.1% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Births by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, births by local authority fell from 4,848 in Year to mid-2012 to 3,682 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,166 or 24.1% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 2,643Year to mid-2012→3,075Year to mid-2025

  Deaths by local authority

  In Cardiff, deaths by local authority rose from 2,643 in Year to mid-2012 to 3,075 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 432 or 16.3% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  3,075 in Year to mid-2025 − 2,643 in Year to mid-2012 = 432, which is 16.3% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Deaths by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, deaths by local authority rose from 2,643 in Year to mid-2012 to 3,075 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 432 or 16.3% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• 2,205Year to mid-2012→607Year to mid-2025

  Births minus deaths by local authority

  In Cardiff, births minus deaths by local authority fell from 2,205 in Year to mid-2012 to 607 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,598 or 72.5% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  607 in Year to mid-2025 − 2,205 in Year to mid-2012 = −1,598, which is 72.5% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Natural change by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, births minus deaths by local authority fell from 2,205 in Year to mid-2012 to 607 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,598 or 72.5% (ONS).

  Copy with source

• -1,233Year to mid-2012→46Year to mid-2025

  Other population change by local authority

  In Cardiff, other population change by local authority rose from -1,233 in Year to mid-2012 to 46 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,279 or 103.7% (ONS).

  How this figure was worked out

  46 in Year to mid-2025 − -1,233 in Year to mid-2012 = 1,279, which is 103.7% of the figure for Year to mid-2012.

  14 published years spanning 13 years, from ONS. Years before the current series come from Other population change by local authority, 2012 to 2024, held as a separate series so the two are never mixed inside one figure.

  In Cardiff, other population change by local authority rose from -1,233 in Year to mid-2012 to 46 in Year to mid-2025, a change of 1,279 or 103.7% (ONS).

  Copy with source

Compare Cardiff with another place

Every figure both areas publish, side by side, from its own publisher with the period named:

• Cardiff and Birmingham
• Cardiff and Leeds
• Cardiff and North Yorkshire
• Cardiff and Somerset
• Cardiff and Cornwall
• Cardiff and Buckinghamshire

Or open any two areas as /compare/places/<area>/<area> — the address carries the whole comparison.

Nearby areas

The closest other local authorities, each with its own report card and a side-by-side comparison:

• Caerphilly · compare
• Newport · compare
• Rhondda Cynon Taf · compare
• Vale of Glamorgan · compare

Areas like Cardiff

The local authorities whose published rents, pay, house prices, council tax and claimant count sit closest to Cardiff’s, wherever they are in the UK. Computed from the figures, not curated.

• Gosport · compare
• Southampton · compare
• Folkestone and Hythe · compare
• Norwich · compare
• Swale · compare
• West Northamptonshire · compare

Since you moved here

Pick the year you arrived, and see what every series published for Cardiff said then and says now, with the periods named. Cardiff since you moved here, or read the whole run year by year.

Where these figures come from

Every figure above is published by the body named here, for the release named here. Figures marked as a Civometry calculation are arithmetic on those published figures and are not official statistics.

Not yet published here

Income, employment, benefits by area, health, education and religion for Cardiff are on the way where an open official source exists; where one does not, the data gaps register says why. Local claimant counts are behind a login.