besttrades.wales maintains an independent index of Welsh tradespeople, built from Companies House and public Google Business Profile records. This study summarises what that data says about the 2,320 businesses in the index as of June 2026. Everything below is free to cite โ see how to reference it at the foot of the page.
1. The digital divide is real โ and wide
Nearly one in three Welsh trade businesses (728, 31.4%) has no website at all attached to their public business records. They rely entirely on word-of-mouth, a Google listing, or a Facebook page to be found. The remaining 1,592 (68.6%) have a site โ but a website alone says nothing about whether it ranks, converts, or even loads on a phone.
For homeowners, that gap is the difference between finding a local builder or plumber in seconds and giving up after a fruitless search. For the trades themselves, it is leads left on the table.
2. Reviews: a long tail of the invisible
Welsh trades collectively hold 49,959 Google reviews โ real reputation, earned over years. But it is unevenly spread. 73.0% have at least one review, 39.6% have ten or more, and a top tier of 243 businesses (10.5%) carry fifty-plus. The most-reviewed Welsh trade in the index has 1,196 reviews.
At the other end, 627 businesses (27.0%) have no Google reviews whatsoever. In a market where Google's local pack ranks heavily on review count and recency, those businesses are effectively invisible in map results no matter how good their work is.
3. What Wales builds: trades by volume
The 2,320 businesses break down across 19 trade categories. Construction dominates โ builders, plumbers, electricians and roofers alone account for more than seven in ten listings.
| Trade | Businesses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Builders & general construction | 617 | 26.6% |
| Plumbers | 400 | 17.2% |
| Electricians | 397 | 17.1% |
| Roofers | 290 | 12.5% |
| Painters & decorators | 179 | 7.7% |
| Gas engineers | 76 | 3.3% |
| Locksmiths | 61 | 2.6% |
| Heating & HVAC | 48 | 2.1% |
| Window fitters | 38 | 1.6% |
| Plasterers | 35 | 1.5% |
| Landscapers | 33 | 1.4% |
| Tree surgeons | 31 | 1.3% |
| Groundworks | 29 | 1.3% |
| Joiners | 27 | 1.2% |
| Decorators | 16 | 0.7% |
| Damp proofing | 13 | 0.6% |
| Windows & doors | 13 | 0.6% |
| Solar panels | 12 | 0.5% |
| Fencing | 5 | 0.2% |
4. Where Welsh trades cluster
By postcode area, the trade economy mirrors the population: the Cardiff (CF) and Swansea (SA) areas hold over half of all listings between them, with a strong second cluster across the North West (LL). Mid Wales remains sparsely covered โ a reflection of its rural geography, not a gap in the data.
| Postcode area | Covers | Businesses | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CF | Cardiff & the South East | 777 | 33.6% |
| SA | Swansea & South West Wales | 504 | 21.8% |
| LL | Gwynedd, Anglesey & the North West | 466 | 20.1% |
| NP | Newport & Gwent | 347 | 15.0% |
| SY | Powys & the Mid Wales borders | 116 | 5.0% |
| CH | Flintshire & the North East | 99 | 4.3% |
| LD | Llandrindod & central Powys | 6 | 0.3% |
Browse verified tradespeople across all four Welsh regions.
Cite this research
This study is free to reference for journalists, researchers, and trade bodies under CC BY 4.0 โ please credit besttrades.wales with a link.
Citation
besttrades.wales (2026). The State of Welsh Trades 2026. https://besttrades.wales/research/state-of-welsh-trades-2026/Link to this study
<a href="https://besttrades.wales/research/state-of-welsh-trades-2026/">The State of Welsh Trades 2026 โ besttrades.wales</a>Run a Welsh trade business? A free listing puts you in front of homeowners searching your area โ and closes part of the gap above.
List your business free โMethodology & limitations. Figures are a snapshot of the besttrades.wales index as of June 2026, built from Companies House filings and public Google Business Profile data for businesses with a Welsh postcode. It is a large sample of the Welsh trades market, not an official census, and "no website"/"no reviews" mean none was found on a business's public records. Full sourcing and verification process: our methodology.
Last updated: 15 June 2026. Questions or corrections: editor@besttrades.wales.