Is Aberystwyth a good place to live?

Aberystwyth has an overall liveability score of 71 out of 100 (very good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 75% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on cost of living and housing. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

Recorded crime for Aberystwyth is shown in the crime and safety section, from police.uk for England and Wales or Scottish Government statistics for Scotland.

The weather section shows annual sunshine, rainfall and typical temperatures for Aberystwyth from Met Office climate data for the location.

Average private rent in the Ceredigion area is about £718 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving Aberystwyth a cost-of-living score of 87 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in Ceredigion is about £237,176 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +1.6% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

The average property in Ceredigion costs about £237,176, which is 6.1 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 77 out of 100. Mainstream lenders usually cap borrowing at around four to four and a half times income, so a ratio above that generally means a larger deposit, a second income or a cheaper property than the local average. With a ten per cent deposit, repaying the rest costs about £1,375 a month at 6% over 25 years, £657 more than the £718 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 87% of premises in Ceredigion can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 51% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 50 out of 100 (Ofcom Connected Nations). These are council-area availability figures - the share of premises able to order each service, not the speed any single line achieves - so check the exact address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing to it.

71.8% of 16 to 64 year olds in Ceredigion are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 45 out of 100. UK local authorities typically range from about 62% to 82%. This is a whole-authority figure, so it describes the local labour market rather than any one town within it.

Ceredigion records 351.8 on Capped 9 average points score (interim measure) (2024/25), giving an education score of 48 out of 100. Each nation publishes its own attainment measure and they are not interchangeable, so education scores compare within England, Scotland or Wales and not across them. Attainment is published for the whole council or county rather than for a school catchment, so check individual schools with the inspectorate before deciding.

For the 1 km grid square containing Aberystwyth, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 4.12 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 3.43 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 100 out of 100; an area meeting both guideline levels scores 100. These are modelled background concentrations for the square, not a reading taken at the roadside.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 5 GP surgeries, 1 pharmacy and 2 dentists. 1 hospital is within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 38 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

The nearest railway station is Aberystwyth Rail Station, about 0.2 km away, and there are 35 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 72 out of 100. Stops come from the DfT NaPTAN dataset and are counted for this exact point, so the figure measures access rather than how frequently anything runs.

Aberystwyth is in the Ceredigion local authority, Wales. It falls within the Aberystwyth Morfa a Glais ward and the Ceredigion Preseli parliamentary constituency. Cost of living, housing, affordability, employment, broadband and education figures in this report are published at local-authority level, so every postcode and town inside Ceredigion shares them. Weather, crime, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point instead.

Aberystwyth sits in the top 22% of the 539 UK areas we have scored. The median area in the index scores 67 out of 100. It is furthest below on broadband and affordability. Categories are compared against the area's own nation where the samples allow it, because crime and school attainment are measured differently either side of the border.

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are Thurso (Highland, Scotland), Fort William (Highland, Scotland) and Wick (Highland, Scotland). Similarity is the average gap across every category both areas have data for, with immediate neighbours excluded, so these are places that score alike rather than places that look alike or sit nearby.

Weather, crime, local amenities, healthcare access, transport access and air quality are measured for this exact point. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment and broadband come from official statistics for the Ceredigion council area, so nearby postcodes and towns in the same council share those figures. Education comes from the local authority, or from the county where attainment is only published at county level. The "How detailed is this report" section explains each level.