Gabalfa
Cardiff 025 · 4 sub-areas · 10,024 residents
Cardiff 025 is a densely populated neighbourhood within Cardiff, home to around 10,000 people and skewed heavily towards younger renters. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,070 a month — noticeably below the UK national median for a 2-bed, and reflecting a neighbourhood where students and young professionals outnumber families. Rents rose around 5% over the past year, so the affordability gap is narrowing.
Gabalfa is a mid-density neighbourhood of Cardiff in the Wales region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. The population skews young, with a high concentration of 18- to 34-year-olds; a high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in Gabalfa?
2 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 17 restaurants and 1 pubs in five minutes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,157 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Gabalfa in Cardiff
Living in Gabalfa
Cardiff 025 has the demographic fingerprint of an inner-city student and young-professional neighbourhood. Nearly half the population — around 46% — is aged 18 to 34, and just one in eight residents is between 35 and 49. That skew shapes everything: the tenure mix, the kind of housing stock on offer, and the pace of the streets.
On rent, it sits at the more affordable end of the Cardiff market. A two-bedroom flat averages around £1,070 a month — below the UK national median for a 2-bed. A one-bedroom comes in at roughly £890, and a three-bed at around £1,190. Those are estimated figures scaled from city-level data using local sale prices, so treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee. Median house prices sit at just under £300,000, and the average first-time buyer here could expect to save a deposit in around four and a half years — competitive by UK standards.
The workforce picture here is mixed. The resident median salary is around £32,800 a year, which is close to what jobs physically based in the area pay (about £33,600). That suggests most residents work relatively locally rather than commuting long distances. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.7 km away — about a 20-minute walk — and the nearest major employment hub is around 21 minutes away by public transport or car. Just over a third of residents drive to work, but a notable 32% work from home, which is well above the national norm.
Broadband coverage is exceptional: 100% of premises have access to gigabit-capable connections, with no properties falling below the universal service obligation. That makes it practical for remote workers even if the commuting options are more limited than central areas.
For a fuller picture of streets and sub-areas within Cardiff 025, see the breakdown below.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Cardiff 025 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're after. Cardiff 025 suits younger renters and students well — it's affordable relative to UK norms, has excellent broadband, and a large share of residents work from home or locally. It's less obviously suited to families: nearby schools have no Good or Outstanding ratings within 2 km, and the crime rate is slightly above the national average.
- What is the rent in Cardiff 025?
- A one-bedroom flat averages around £890 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,070, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,190. These are estimates scaled from Cardiff-wide data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 4.8% over the past year, so they're creeping up.
- Is Cardiff 025 safe?
- The crime rate is around 87.6 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — slightly above the UK national average of about 80. For an inner-city area with a large student population, that's broadly in line with comparable neighbourhoods. Check Police.uk for street-level data before choosing a specific street.
- What's the commute from Cardiff 025 to Cardiff city centre?
- The nearest major employment hub is around 21 minutes away by public transport or car. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.7 km away — about a 20-minute walk. Just over a third of residents drive to work, and a large share (32%) work from home entirely.
- Who lives in Cardiff 025?
- Predominantly young people — nearly half the population is aged 18 to 34, strongly suggesting a student and young-professional mix. Families with children are less common: the 35–49 cohort is thin, and under-18s make up 27% of residents. One in four households is a single-person unit.
- What schools are near Cardiff 025?
- There are four schools within roughly 2 km, but none are currently rated Good or Outstanding within that catchment area. The nearest Outstanding school is approximately 27 km away. Families should check current Estyn inspection reports directly, as Welsh schools are inspected under a different framework from Ofsted in England.
- Is Cardiff 025 good for working from home?
- Yes — 100% of premises have gigabit-capable broadband and no properties fall below the minimum broadband standard. Around 32% of residents already work from home, well above the national average, which suggests the neighbourhood has adapted well to remote-working patterns.