Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,280 in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Drighlington grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 42% of UK towns, and #57 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A): 0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its weakest is safety (C−): 35.2 violent and sexual offences and 17.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 15%. The median home sold for £269,995 in the last three years, 5.4 times what households in the Leeds council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Drighlington 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 Drighlington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Drighlington’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% 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 Drighlington.
Burglary and damage came to 17.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (12.7) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 457 crimes inside Drighlington’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 76 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 37% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drighlington Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 396 | C− |
For Drighlington, that is above both West Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 9% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £379,997 | 120 |
| Semi-detached | £257,500 | 151 |
| Terraced | £188,475 | 56 |
| Flat or maisonette | £133,500 | 19 |
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.
Drighlington sits above both West Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (7%) on this measure. Homes from before 1919 make up 14% of the total. Drighlington’s listed buildings include Lumb Hall, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Drighlington below both West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Women here live to 81.8 on average and men to 79.5 (2019–23). These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Drighlington | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 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 was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Drighlington is below both West Yorkshire’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (27%). 30% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
In the comparison, Drighlington comes below both West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Those 65 and older account for 22% of residents. Drighlington has a median age of 46.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Drighlington | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 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 Drighlington. Best known first.
Historic houseOakwell Hall800 m outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseRed House Museum2.1 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBolling Hall Museum5 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumBagshaw Museum2.1 km outside town, to the south
GardenPudsey Park3.2 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumFulneck Moravian Museum2.2 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
13 listed buildings in Drighlington, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Paul: Photo: Tim Green · CC BY 2.0 · Dale Farmhouse: Photo: Dave.Dunford · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drighlington | 5,280 | — | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 1.3 | C+ | C+ | C | C |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 1.5 | B | A− | C | C+ |
| Batley | 44,494 | 2.6 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Morley | 32,562 | 2.6 | B− | B− | D | C |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 3 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Cleckheaton | 11,607 | 3.2 | C | A | D− | C− |
| Pudsey | 34,853 | 3.2 | B− | C+ | C− | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Drighlington is £2,312 for 2026–27, less than in 73% 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
Drighlington is a built-up area of 5,280 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.
