The diphthong 'oe' in a monosyllable is generally reduced to a long vowel 'o' [o:] in South Wales, and so the pronunciation of the town has traditionally been [pɛn ˈkoːd].

This local form is spelt as "Pen-côd" in texts written in the Gwentian dialect (that is, south-eastern Welsh).

To the south are the rolling countryside of the Vale of Glamorgan and the rugged north coast of the Bristol Channel.

To the west is Hendre ("lowland winter homestead", literally "old settlement") which rises gently from the railway line in the centre of the town towards the common land at Ystadwaun, on older maps as Ystad y Waun and Gwastadwaun ("level moor").

The central and eastern part of the town, which lies on the valley floor near the railway, consists of Pencoed itself and Felindre ("mill settlement").

A new development, Earlswood Parc, was announced in 2002 and now has been completed, incorporating various Westbury built homes and Bocam business park.

The Raspberry Pi single-board computer is manufactured at the Sony Technology Centre in Pencoed, which produces 44,000 every week.