Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 15,238 residents in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. 41% of households own their home with no mortgage.
Overall, East Ardsley earns a C+: better than 38% of UK towns, and #64 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Crime runs high: police record 38 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.6 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 67%. Jobs and pay hold up well: households earn a mean £52,933 a year, and 2.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Buying the median home, at £242,500, takes 4.8 years of household income in the Leeds council area. The rest of its grades are middling: B for schools and B for hazard risk.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things East Ardsley 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 East Ardsley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside East Ardsley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
12% 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 East Ardsley. Best known first.
CathedralWakefield Cathedral4.5 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumWakefield Museum4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBagshaw Museum3.6 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseOulton Hall5 km outside town, to the east
CastleRothwell Castle Ruins3.9 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryThe Art House4.3 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 East Ardsley.
Just over half of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 1,000 crimes inside East Ardsley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 112 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.4 reports per 1,000, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
Below are three of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. At the town’s 4 primary schools, just over three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Secondary results at the 8 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 49.2, with 54% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westerton Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 664 | B− |
| Woodkirk AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,769 | A− |
| Hill Top Primary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 223 | A |
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 12% of the total, below West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. Historic England’s list names 12 listed buildings in East Ardsley: 1 Grade II*. Relative to its size, East Ardsley keeps 8 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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.
87% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 32%, below West Yorkshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) alike. For every resident in work, East Ardsley has 0.3 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 82% of people in East Ardsley rate their own health good or very good. The nearest A&E to East Ardsley is Pinderfields Hospital, 3.8 miles away.
| Census 2021 | East Ardsley | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 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.
Renting privately is how just over one in ten households live. Private rents average £1,145 a month across the Leeds council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 653 homes sold inside East Ardsley’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £242,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £373,997 | 238 |
| Semi-detached | £226,000 | 271 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 135 |
| Flat or maisonette | £122,500 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Among adults, 28% have a degree. People 65 and over make up 19% of the town, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Half of East Ardsley is older than 45, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| East Ardsley | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
12 listed buildings in East Ardsley.
Church of St Michael: Photo: jolmartyn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ardsley Mill and attached engine house and chimney: Photo: Steve Partridge · CC BY-SA 2.0
3 notable people were born in East Ardsley.
Kenneth Murray: Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Ardsley | 15,238 | — | C+ | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 1.5 | — | B− | C | C |
| Morley | 32,562 | 2.1 | B− | B− | D | C |
| Lofthouse and Robin Hood | 4,187 | 2.5 | B | B− | C | C |
| Ossett | 21,854 | 3.2 | B | B+ | C | C |
| Batley | 44,494 | 3.3 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 3.7 | C+ | C+ | C | C |
| Wakefield | 97,871 | 3.7 | C | B | D− | D |
Thorpe on the Hill has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in East Ardsley is £2,276 for 2026–27, less than in 78% 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
East Ardsley is a built-up area of 15,238 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.