Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 6,358 people, this town lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. On the way to work, 14% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Where it does best is schools: primary results beat nine in ten towns in England; secondary results beat 87% of towns in England. Prices are high against local incomes (D): a typical home costs £372,500 and rent runs £1,145 a month. Hazard risk is weaker too: 0.6% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The overall grade lands at A−, #12 of 91 in West Yorkshire. It comes out better than nearly four fifths of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Boston Spa 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 Boston Spa is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 68 buildings inside Boston Spa’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
18% 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 Boston Spa.
Private renters make up one in ten households. 12% live in social housing, below West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 290 homes sold inside Boston Spa’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £372,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £595,000 | 125 |
| Semi-detached | £326,500 | 76 |
| Terraced | £257,000 | 58 |
| Flat or maisonette | £198,750 | 31 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Three of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Boston Spa’s four primaries and one secondary have 2,178 pupils between them. GCSE results at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km: 59% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 52.6.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Edward's Catholic Primary School, Boston SpaLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 197 | A+ |
| Boston Spa AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,498 | A |
| Bramham Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 184 | A |
The 65-and-over age group makes up 27% of residents. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.9% of residents, below West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Children are 17% of the town. Ages in Boston Spa split evenly at 47.8: half are older, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 46% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the census, 4.5% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, below West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. One GP practice serves the town; 96% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Asked at the census, 84% of residents of Boston Spa said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Boston Spa is Harrogate District Hospital, 9.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Boston Spa keeps 107 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. This West Yorkshire town counts 68 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 18% of the total, below West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) but above England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 57% of the total. Violent crime ran at 20.1 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (31.8) and England’s towns (22). Reported offences in Boston Spa came to 239 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 42. For its size, Boston Spa records less crime per resident than 71% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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 43% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
43% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. The car took 85% of commuters, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Households take home £62K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Boston Spa. Best known first.
CastleHazlewood Castle4.7 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseBramham Park2.8 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumThe Second World War Experience Centre2 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionAction Karts1.5 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
68 listed buildings in Boston Spa.
Former Royal Hotel: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Boston House and Attached Wing Wall: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Spa Lane Methodist Church: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Spa Baths: Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Spa | 6,358 | — | A− | D | B+ | A |
| Thorp Arch | 1,782 | 1.5 | — | D− | D− | C |
| Bramham | 1,764 | 1.5 | — | D | A− | A |
| Collingham | 2,362 | 2.4 | — | D− | A− | A+ |
| Wetherby | 11,711 | 2.4 | B+ | D | C− | A− |
| Bardsey | 1,819 | 3.5 | — | D− | A | A+ |
| East Keswick | 1,145 | 4 | — | D− | A+ | A+ |
| Tadcaster | 6,339 | 4 | B | B− | B− | B− |
Thorp Arch, Bramham, Collingham, Bardsey and East Keswick have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.4 times the typical UK town for its size.
GCSE results beat 87% of towns in England, and primary results beat 90% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £372,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £198,750, terraced houses £257,000, semi-detached houses £326,500 and detached houses £595,000.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Boston Spa is a built-up area of 6,358 people, in the Leeds 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.