Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 17,056 people, lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. 42% of households own their home outright.
Walkability is its strong suit — on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. At B− overall, Baildon ranks #41 of 91 in West Yorkshire. It comes out better than 55% of UK towns. The weak point is safety — 35.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 16.5 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 34%. Homes sell for a median £269,500, about 5.9 years of what households in the Bradford council area earn. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools, B− for health, B for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 2 things Baildon 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 Baildon is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 46 buildings inside Baildon’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 3 scheduled monuments.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Baildon. Best known first.
CathedralBradford Cathedral4.9 km outside town, to the south
Art galleryCartwright Hall Art Gallery2.8 km outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Peace Museum100 m outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBracken Hall Countryside Centre200 m outside town, to the west
MuseumBradford Industrial Museum4.1 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Baildon.
Children under 15 make up 16%, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Those 65 and older account for just over a quarter of residents. Baildon has a median age of 48.2. Among adults, 35% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Baildon | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Baildon’s four primaries and one secondary have 2,774 pupils between them. Below are three of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the 11 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 44.6, with 47% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandal Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 463 | B |
| Titus Salt SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,462 | C− |
| Baildon Church of England Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 428 | A+ |
Police figures for Baildon’s built-up area: 1,198 crimes and 252 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.5 reports per 1,000, above West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. 48% 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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
41% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). Baildon counts 0.6 jobs per working resident. Home was the main workplace for just over a third of workers at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 94% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Baildon is Bradford Royal Infirmary, 3 miles away. Life expectancy here is 84.3 for women and 80.7 for men (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Baildon | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 13% of the total, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. One registered park or garden lies in Baildon.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11% live in social housing, below West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 768 homes sold inside Baildon’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £269,500. Private rents average £745 a month across the Bradford council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £450,000 | 188 |
| Semi-detached | £268,000 | 355 |
| Terraced | £191,250 | 160 |
| Flat or maisonette | £99,000 | 65 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
46 listed buildings in Baildon.
Malt Shovel Public House: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Baildon Moravian Church: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · West Shelter: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Cross Base and Shaft of Cross: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0
8 notable people were born in Baildon.
Joseph Hermon Cawthra: Mark Surry, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
About the middle for its size: 66% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C−.
GCSE results trail 51% of towns in England, and primary results beat 71% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Baildon is a built-up area of 17,056 people, in the Bradford 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.