# Most and least densely populated places in Wales (2021)

Cardiff was the most densely populated of Wales’s 22 councils in 2021 (population density 2,546 per km²).

Powys was the least densely populated (26 per km²). The middle council, Flintshire, had 352 per km².

Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place.

| Rank | Area | Population density |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Cardiff](https://openindex.co.uk/cardiff) | 2,546 per km² |
| 2 | [Newport](https://openindex.co.uk/newport) | 838 per km² |
| 3 | [Torfaen](https://openindex.co.uk/torfaen) | 731 per km² |
| 4 | [Caerphilly](https://openindex.co.uk/caerphilly) | 634 per km² |
| 5 | [Swansea](https://openindex.co.uk/swansea) | 632 per km² |
| 6 | [Blaenau Gwent](https://openindex.co.uk/blaenau-gwent) | 615 per km² |
| 7 | [Bridgend](https://openindex.co.uk/bridgend) | 580 per km² |
| 8 | [Rhondda Cynon Taf](https://openindex.co.uk/rhondda-cynon-taf) | 560 per km² |
| 9 | [Merthyr Tydfil](https://openindex.co.uk/merthyr-tydfil) | 526 per km² |
| 10 | [Vale of Glamorgan](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-glamorgan) | 398 per km² |
| 11 | [Flintshire](https://openindex.co.uk/flintshire) | 352 per km² |
| 12 | [Neath Port Talbot](https://openindex.co.uk/neath-port-talbot) | 322 per km² |
| 13 | [Wrexham](https://openindex.co.uk/wrexham) | 268 per km² |
| 14 | [Denbighshire](https://openindex.co.uk/denbighshire) | 114 per km² |
| 15 | [Monmouthshire](https://openindex.co.uk/monmouthshire) | 109 per km² |
| 16 | [Conwy](https://openindex.co.uk/conwy) | 102 per km² |
| 17 | [Isle of Anglesey](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-anglesey) | 96 per km² |
| 18 | [Carmarthenshire](https://openindex.co.uk/carmarthenshire) | 79 per km² |
| 19 | [Pembrokeshire](https://openindex.co.uk/pembrokeshire) | 76 per km² |
| 20 | [Gwynedd](https://openindex.co.uk/gwynedd) | 46 per km² |
| 21 | [Ceredigion](https://openindex.co.uk/ceredigion) | 40 per km² |
| 22 | [Powys](https://openindex.co.uk/powys) | 26 per km² |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from census population counts and the area of each place. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/scotland)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population-density)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population-density)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/wales.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population-density/wales