Crap Towns / Gwynedd / Caernarfon
Caernarfon
78/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 78. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Mind your language.
Cracking castle. The town round it is a lot rougher than the postcard.
Caernarfon has the best castle in Wales and a town round it with more aggro than most places its size. Anti-social behaviour is running at two and a half times the typical town's rate. The Cofis swear at each other to say hello, which is fine.
The campervans on the foreshore empty their toilets wherever, which isn't. The storm overflows are worse, spilling for nearly 15 times as long per head as the typical town's. It pisses down on 169 days a year, there are over four times the typical town's bookies per head, and the pubs are never short. Locals can't park and Bangor gets the abuse.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Caernarfon's 99 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 99% of towns.
- Sewage spills99/1003,994 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour97/10035.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Criminal damage and arson97/10015.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain91/100169 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Broadband80/1006.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 29.3% across the Gwynedd council area
- Food hygiene69/1003.7% rated 0 to 2, of the 136 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Serious road collisions40/1002.1 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Fly-tipping4/1003.8 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Gwynedd council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution2/1003.5 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor | 82 |
| – | Caernarfon | 78 |
| 2 | Holyhead | 77 |
Caernarfon by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 133 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.7x the typical town's 76.2
- 1 reports of graffiti and fly-posting on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026
What's left on the high street
- 14 pubs, 8 hairdressers, 2 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 1 bank, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 14) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 20.3 per 100,000 people, 6x the typical town's 3.4
- 7 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 7.1 per 10,000 people, 4.4x the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.28pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.1% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 80% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 2.6% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space, and OS maps no public park here Better: 83% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,428 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 7% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Gwynedd council
Have a crap-off
Caernarfon against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.