Merthyr Tydfil
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Merthyr Tydfil supports 23,180 workplace jobs with median earnings broadly in line with the England average. The claimant rate (3.4%) is lower than the England average of 4.1%. Productivity (GVA per job) is ranked 297th of 391 local authorities.
Source: ONS, Nomis, HM Land Registry, 2024-2025·Last updated March 2026
Employment & Labour Market
Monthly claimant count rate over the past 3 years.
Source: Claimant Count via Nomis, BRES, 2020-2026·Last updated March 2026
Industry Structure
Location quotients and shift-share analysis for Merthyr Tydfil's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Human health & social work (LQ 1.88) and Manufacturing (LQ 1.73). Wholesale & retail trade shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Human health & social work underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Merthyr Tydfil, derived from sector employment and national productivity ratios.
Estimates based on national GVA-per-job ratios applied to local sector employment (BRES). Indicative only. See Methodology for details.
Earnings & Income
Gross annual earnings distribution, 2025.
Median annual earnings of £31,504 are in line with the England median of £33,080.
Source: ASHE via Nomis, 2025·Last updated March 2026
Skills & Qualifications
Census 2021 highest qualification and occupation data.
Source: Census 2021, ONS
Demographics
Census 2021 population by age band.
The population is 58,840 with 63.2% of working age. The dependency ratio is 58.2%.
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Merthyr Tydfil residents.
18.2% of residents work from home (below the national average). The most common commute method is driving a car or van (60.6%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in Merthyr Tydfil from the UK Business Counts dataset.
1,225 active enterprises operate in this area. The business base has declined by 2.8% over three years. 75% of enterprises have fewer than 5 employees.
Source: UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2024·Last updated March 2026
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for Merthyr Tydfil vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £262,375 is below the England median of £290,000. The price-to-earnings ratio is 8.3x. Prices have risen 1.8% over the past year.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. Merthyr Tydfil is ranked 2 out of 22 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 2nd of 22 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Income (ranked 2nd), while Physical Environment ranks comparatively better (9th).
Source: Welsh Government WIMD, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Merthyr Tydfil using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026