List of cities in Wales facts for kids

Wales has seven cities as of September 2022. These are special places that have been given "city status." This means they are important centers for people, businesses, and history.

Bangor is Wales' oldest city with a cathedral. St Davids is the smallest city in the entire United Kingdom. Cardiff is the capital city of Wales and its biggest city by population. Swansea is the second largest.

Since 2000, Welsh towns have tried to become cities. They do this by entering special contests during big national celebrations. These celebrations include jubilees for the British monarch or other important events like the millennium celebrations. Newport, St Asaph, and Wrexham all won city status through these contests. Wrexham is the newest city, getting its status in September 2022 during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours.

Exploring Wales' Seven Cities

Here is a list of the seven cities in Wales. You can see when they became cities and how many people live in them.

City Name (English)	City Name (Welsh)	Local Area	Year City Status Granted	Image of the City	Population (Local Area)	Population (Urban Area, 2021)
Cardiff	Caerdydd	City and County of Cardiff	1905	Cardiff Castle	359,512	348,535
Swansea	Abertawe	City and County of Swansea	1969	Swansea Beach and The Tower, Meridian Quay	237,834	170,085
Newport	Casnewydd	Newport	2002	Celtic Manor Resort	159,658	130,890
Wrexham	Wrecsam	Wrexham County Borough	2022	Wrexham city centre	135,132	44,785
Bangor	Bangor	Gwynedd	6th century (cathedral city) Officially confirmed in 1974	Bangor from Port Penrhyn	15,060	16,990
St Asaph	Llanelwy	Denbighshire	2012	Kentigern Arms	3,485
St Davids	Tyddewi	Pembrokeshire	1994	Porth Brâg	1,348

How Towns Become Cities

Since the year 2000, towns in Wales have been able to compete for city status. This happens during special national celebrations, like the millennium celebrations or the Jubilee of the reigning monarch. A jubilee is a special anniversary, often for a king or queen.

In the 2000 contest, no Welsh town won city status, which some people thought was a shame.

Towns That Became Cities

These towns successfully won city status:

• Newport — It tried in 2000 and lost, but then won in 2002.
• St Asaph — It tried in 2000 and 2002 and lost both times. It finally won in 2012 during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
• Wrexham — This town tried many times! It lost in 2000, 2002, and 2012. But it finally won in 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours for Queen Elizabeth II.

Towns That Tried But Didn't Win

Some towns have tried to become cities but haven't won yet:

• Aberystwyth — It tried in 2000 and 2002.
• Machynlleth — It also tried in 2000 and 2002.
• Newtown — It tried in 2000 and 2002 as well.

Councillors in Merthyr Tydfil decided not to try for city status in 2022 after asking people what they thought.

Future City Bids

In 2024, the local council for Llanelli announced that they plan to try for city status later this year.

Places Called "Cities" Unofficially

Sometimes, a place might be called a "city" even if it doesn't officially have city status.

• Llandaff – This area is now part of Cardiff. People sometimes call it the "City of Llandaff" or "a city within a city." This is because it used to be the home of an important church leader, the Bishop of Llandaff. However, it is not officially recognized as a city by the government.