Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Primary school results beat 97% of towns in England. 6,275 people live in this town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Good on most counts; one lags. Its strongest is health: men here can expect to live to 83.2, women to 87.2. Households here earn well: households earn a mean £52,566 a year, and 1.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. It takes 5.1 years of household income in the Wakefield council area to buy the median home, at £230,000. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: nearly one in ten commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Overall, that makes a B, good for #31 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than 61% of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Ackworth Moor Top does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ackworth Moor Top is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 4 buildings inside Ackworth Moor Top’s built-up area.
17% 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 Ackworth Moor Top.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly nine in ten commuters drove, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 1.5%. Of the commuters living in Ackworth Moor Top, 7% work in the town itself. Each working resident is matched by 0.3 jobs in the town.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Some 545 pupils attend Ackworth Moor Top’s two primaries. One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 77% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outwood Primary Academy Bell LaneLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 320 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ackworth Moor Top has 4 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, all Grade II. Listed buildings per head: 6 for every 10,000 residents of the town. Before 1919: that is when 17% of homes were built.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the census, 4.6% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. The nearest A&E to Ackworth Moor Top is Pinderfields Hospital, 6.8 miles away. Asked at the census, 84% of residents of Ackworth Moor Top said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Ackworth Moor Top | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
Violent crime ran at 27.4 per 1,000 residents a year, below West Yorkshire’s towns (31.8) but above England’s towns (22). Police recorded 332 crimes inside Ackworth Moor Top’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 30 reports of anti-social behaviour. Also worth knowing: 46% 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.
Private tenants account for 13% of households. Social housing holds just over one in ten households, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). 284 standard sales inside Ackworth Moor Top’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £230,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £344,750 | 56 |
| Semi-detached | £237,500 | 108 |
| Terraced | £180,000 | 115 |
| Flat or maisonette | £106,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Line up the people of Ackworth Moor Top by age and the one in the middle is 40.5. 18% are under 15, lower than West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and near England’s towns (18%). Among adults, 33% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ackworth Moor Top | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
4 listed buildings in Ackworth Moor Top.
The Masons Arms: Photo: Mike Kirby · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Guide Post on South Side of Junction with Bell Lane: Photo: Milestone Society · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ackworth Moor Top | 6,275 | — | B | B− | C+ | A− |
| Fitzwilliam and Kinsley | 4,993 | 1.5 | D− | B | D− | D− |
| Hemsworth | 9,177 | 2.3 | D | B | D− | D |
| Featherstone | 11,657 | 2.5 | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Havercroft and Ryhill | 5,204 | 3 | C | B+ | D | D |
| South Hiendley | 1,750 | 3 | — | B | C+ | D |
| Streethouse | 1,691 | 3.3 | — | B+ | D− | D |
| Upton | 6,332 | 3.3 | D | B+ | D | C− |
South Hiendley and Streethouse have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
About the middle for its size: 65% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades C+.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Ackworth Moor Top is £2,364 for 2026–27, less than in 64% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Ackworth Moor Top is a built-up area of 6,275 people, in the Wakefield 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
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.
