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County councillors across Wales are set to receive a pay rise of 6.4% this year.

The body which sets the pay for councillors across Wales is proposing increasing councillor salaries to £21,044 a year.

The percentage increase matches the average pay increase across Wales, using Office for National Statistics data.

The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has published its annual remuneration report – the first since it took over responsibility for setting councillor pay.

Remuneration used to be set by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, with the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru taking over the work in 2025.

The commission also sets pay for council leaders and executive members. The extra wages they receive for taking on extra responsibilities will also increase by 6.4%.

Allowances for community and town councils remain the same, however.

Shereen Williams MBE OStJ, chief executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, said: “We’d like to thank councils and others who responded to the consultation. Many considered arguments were made during the consultation.

“Councillors across Wales serve their communities with dedication, and run services that we all rely on every day. Research by the commission shows that councillors are working an average of 28 hours per week on their roles, with many of them doing this on top of another job.

“We recognise however that council budgets are stretched and the cost of living has increased for everyone, and we’ll look at new ways of deciding councillor pay for future years over the coming months.”