Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, this large town has 63,730 residents.
The data are hard on it. Safety lags: 63.4 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 22 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 92%. Dewsbury grades C− overall, better than 18% of UK towns, and ranks #82 of 91 in West Yorkshire. It lags on health as well (D) — life expectancy is 75.4 for men and 79.4 for women. Where it does best is cost of living (A) — a typical home costs £173,500 and rent runs £782 a month.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Dewsbury 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 Dewsbury is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 128 buildings inside Dewsbury’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I.
23% 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 Dewsbury.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Dewsbury came to 7,447 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 803. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.2 reports per 1,000, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 47% were 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.
Three of its 27 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Ravensthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School’s results beat 92% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 13 primary schools: 57% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boothroyd Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 557 | D |
| Manor Croft AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,032 | B+ |
| Ravensthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 401 | A |
11 GP practices serve the town; 76% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 6.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Asked at the census, four in five residents of Dewsbury said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Dewsbury | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
From September 2023 to August 2026, 1,565 homes sold inside Dewsbury’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £173,500. 19% rent privately, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). The owner-occupied share of households is 59%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 280 |
| Semi-detached | £189,000 | 625 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 574 |
| Flat or maisonette | £79,000 | 86 |
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.
Grade II* covers 3 of them, Grade I 2. Dewsbury’s listed buildings include the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 8% lies in conservation areas, below West Yorkshire’s towns (96%) but above England’s towns (7%). Nearly a quarter of homes were built before 1919.
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.
At the census, 18% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%). Dewsbury counts 0.9 jobs per working resident. 33% of commuters who live in Dewsbury also work there. Also worth knowing: a household here earns £44K a year before tax, on average.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
13% of residents are 65 or over. The 15-to-24 age group: 14%, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Dewsbury has a median age of 34.4 years.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Dewsbury | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 13% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Dewsbury. Best known first.
MuseumDewsbury Bus Museumin town
MuseumNational Coal Mining Museum1.5 km outside town, to the south
ZooPonderosa Zoo400 m outside town, to the west
Historic houseRed House Museum3.2 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseOakwell Hall3.6 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumBagshaw Museum2.3 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
128 listed buildings in Dewsbury, 2 of them Grade I.
Thornhill Lees Hall: Photo: stuart hartley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dewsbury Town Hall, including former Magistrates’ Court: Photo: David Ward · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ravensthorpe-Dewsbury Railway Railway Bridge over River Calder: Photo: Neil Turner from Sowerby Bridge, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Central Methodist Church: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0
155 notable people were born in Dewsbury.
Owen Willans Richardson: Nobel foundation, Public domain · Alistair Brownlee: Jim Thurston, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Betty Boothroyd: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · Jack Wolfe: PhilipRomanoPhoto, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Daniel Bennett: mustapha_ennaimi, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | — | C− | A | D− | D |
| Ossett | 21,854 | 2.3 | B | B+ | C | C |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 2.3 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Batley | 44,494 | 2.3 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Mirfield | 19,614 | 2.6 | B− | B+ | C | C+ |
| Middlestown and Overton | 2,409 | 2.9 | — | B− | C+ | C+ |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 3.3 | C+ | A | D | C− |
| Grange Moor | 1,118 | 3.5 | — | B+ | B+ | B |
Middlestown and Overton and Grange Moor have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £173,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £79,000, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £189,000 and detached houses £300,000.
GCSE results trail 69% of towns in England, and primary results trail 72% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Dewsbury is a built-up area of 63,730 people, in the Kirklees 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.