Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 16,758 residents and lies in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D): life expectancy 76.1 for men, 80.6 for women. Taken together, its subjects give Wombwell a D overall, better than 13% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #58 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: homes sell for a median £180,000, about 4.3 times local household income. Add walkability to its strengths (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Safety is weaker too — 40.6 violent and sexual offences and 20.4 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 22%.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · life expectancy, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Wombwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Wombwell does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Wombwell’s built-up area.
22% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wombwell.
Wombwell has a median age of 39. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town, lower than both South Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 16% of residents.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Wombwell | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the town’s 4 primary schools, 53% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Between them, four primaries and one secondary teach 2,616 pupils in Wombwell.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| High View Primary Learning CentreLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 467 | C |
| Netherwood AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,229 | C |
7.7% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above South Yorkshire’s towns (6.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Self-reported good health: 77% of Wombwell’s residents. Also worth knowing: 2 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects 22% of people here.
| Census 2021 | Wombwell | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 17.2 reports per 1,000, higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8). A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 1,288 offences in Wombwell and 276 cases of nuisance behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Wombwell has more crime per resident than 78% of them. 53% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wombwell has 3 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 80% of commuters, above South Yorkshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Wombwell counts 0.6 jobs per working resident. The average household earns £41K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 22% of households, above South Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. The £180,000 median rests on 749 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). The owner-occupied share of households is 57%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £273,247 | 186 |
| Semi-detached | £180,000 | 272 |
| Terraced | £125,000 | 268 |
| Flat or maisonette | £88,000 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Wombwell. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageMonk Bretton Priory2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseWentworth Woodhouse4.2 km outside town, to the south
MuseumElsecar Heritage Centre2 km outside town, to the south
Heritage railwayElsecar Heritage Railway2.1 km outside town, to the south
MuseumCooper Art Gallery4.7 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumExperience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre4.7 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Wombwell is a built-up area of 16,758 people, in the Barnsley council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wombwell | 16,758 | — | D | B+ | D | D |
| Hemingfield | 1,815 | 0.9 | — | B− | B+ | C− |
| Brampton | 4,620 | 1.3 | C | A | D | D |
| Darfield | 7,209 | 1.4 | D | A− | D | D |
| Jump | 1,424 | 1.5 | — | A− | C− | D |
| Hoyland | 15,527 | 2.3 | C− | B+ | D | D |
| Wath upon Dearne | 16,962 | 2.4 | C | A | D | D |
| Worsbrough | 8,840 | 2.7 | C | B+ | D− | D− |
Hemingfield and Jump have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £180,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £88,000, terraced houses £125,000, semi-detached houses £180,000 and detached houses £273,247.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.