Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 45,363 people, this large town lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Overall, Castleford earns a D: better than 11% of UK towns, and #85 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its lowest grade is for safety — 61.7 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 27.1 home and vehicle crimes. Only 3% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Homes are affordable: a typical home costs £186,000 and rent runs £806 a month. Health is a weak point: life expectancy 76.5 for men, 80.1 for women.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Castleford 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 Castleford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Castleford’s built-up area, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% 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 Castleford.
Half the people of Castleford are older than 38.7. People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). 16% of residents are 65 or over.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Castleford | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 20% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
53% of pupils at the town’s 9 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Two of its 15 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the town’s 2 secondary schools averages 43.8, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smawthorne Henry Moore AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 473 | C− |
| Castleford AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,480 | B |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 6,020 offences in Castleford and 759 cases of nuisance behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Castleford has more crime per resident than 97% of them. There were 16.8 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Just over two fifths 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 nearest A&E to Castleford is Pinderfields Hospital, 6.3 miles away. At the census, 78% of people in Castleford called their health good or very good, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). 7.3% of residents report bad or very bad health. Also worth knowing: 4 GP practices serve the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Castleford | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Private tenants account for 15% of households. The median sale, £186,000, comes from 1,736 standard sales inside Castleford’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. It is the 70th most expensive of 91 towns of 2,500+ in West Yorkshire.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £299,995 | 384 |
| Semi-detached | £190,000 | 711 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 597 |
| Flat or maisonette | £105,000 | 44 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Castleford has 8 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, all Grade II. Scaled to its population, Castleford has 2 listed buildings per 10,000 people, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). One scheduled monument lies locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 1.2 jobs in Castleford for each resident in work. About 31% of its commuters stay in Castleford for work. The average household earns £43K a year before tax. At the census, 17% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%).
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 Castleford. Best known first.
MuseumQueen's Millin town
CastlePontefract Castle1.9 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumPontefract Museum2.2 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumCastleford Forum Museumin townTheme parkTheme parkDiggerland Yorkshire100 m outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionBE1150 Dragline3.1 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
8 listed buildings in Castleford.
The Rising Sun Public House: Photo: Bill Henderson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Roman Bath House, Castleford: Photo: Lajmmoore · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Whitwood Terrace: Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · The Briggs Memorial Hall: Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
74 notable people were born in Castleford.
Henry Moore: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Martyn Woolford: https://www.flickr.com/photos/carlf18/, CC BY 2.0 · Daryl Clark: Gerard Barrau, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Greg Eden: http://picasaweb.google.com/barrau.gerard, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Beaman: Westpole, Public domain · John Kear: Fleets, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleford | 45,363 | — | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Allerton Bywater | 6,958 | 2.5 | C+ | B− | C− | C |
| Pontefract | 32,982 | 2.5 | C+ | B+ | D | C− |
| Methley | 1,196 | 2.6 | — | B− | B | C− |
| Mickletown | 3,362 | 2.8 | B− | C+ | B− | C− |
| Featherstone | 11,657 | 3 | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Holmfield | 4,150 | 3.1 | C− | A− | D− | D− |
| Byram | 1,436 | 3.3 | — | A | C | B− |
Methley and Byram have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results trail 62% of towns in England, and primary results trail 85% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £186,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £105,000, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £190,000 and detached houses £299,995.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Castleford is a built-up area of 45,363 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.