Overview
- The Welsh Government released WIMD 2025, a fine-grained index that ranks small areas across multiple domains to show where need is greatest.
- Rhyl West 2 tops the 2025 list, with other top-10 entries including St James in Caerphilly, Ely in Cardiff, Caerau in Bridgend, Rhyl South West and Queensway in Wrexham.
- At local-authority level, Blaenau Gwent is assessed as most deprived and Monmouthshire least, with Blaenau Gwent holding the highest share of areas in the most deprived 10%.
- The index identifies 22 small areas as in deep rooted deprivation, highlighting persistent challenges in places such as parts of Rhyl, Swansea and several Valleys communities.
- Officials caution against direct comparison with 2019 due to updated data and new indicators, including housing affordability, poor energy performance, travel time to childcare and noise pollution.