Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
11,657 people call this town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber home.
The weak point is safety — 62.1 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 17.8 home and vehicle crimes. Only 6% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Cost of living is its strong suit: the median home sold for £177,750, 3.9 years of area income. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #87 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than 8% of UK towns. It also trails on health (D): men here can expect to live to 77.1, women to 80.7. Jobs & income is weaker too (D) — households earn a mean £42,092 a year, and 3.8% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Featherstone 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 Featherstone is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 10 buildings inside Featherstone’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
20% 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 Featherstone.
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for a tenth of the town. Half the people of Featherstone are older than 39.9. The share of residents under 15 is 18%.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Featherstone | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 19% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy’s results beat three quarters of schools in England like it. Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 44.5, with 41% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Of its 7 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. Its five primaries and two secondaries have 3,211 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 338 | D |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,470 | B− |
| Featherstone All Saints CofE AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 227 | A− |
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 1,239 crimes and 122 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Featherstone’s built-up area. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Featherstone has more crime per resident than 94% of them. 53% 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.
At the census, 7.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: just over three quarters of Featherstone’s residents. Women here live to 80.7 on average and men to 77.1 (2019–23). 2 GP practices serve the town; 91% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Featherstone | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 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 renters make up 15% of households, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Half of the 454 standard sales inside Featherstone’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £177,750. Owners make up 58% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £275,000 | 67 |
| Semi-detached | £200,000 | 180 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 198 |
| Flat or maisonette | £90,000 | 9 |
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.
Historic England’s list names 10 listed buildings in Featherstone: 1 Grade II*. Scaled to its population, Featherstone has 9 listed buildings per 10,000 people, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). The pre-1919 share of homes is 20%.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took four in five commuters, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). 17% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. There are 0.8 jobs in Featherstone for each resident in work.
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 Featherstone. Best known first.
CastlePontefract Castle3 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic house · National TrustNostell Priory2.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumPontefract Museum2.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumQueen's Mill3.4 km outside town, to the northTheme parkTheme parkDiggerland Yorkshire2.4 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumCastleford Forum Museum3.3 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
10 listed buildings in Featherstone.
Purston Hall: Photo: Bill Henderson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Thomas: Photo: Bill Henderson · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featherstone | 11,657 | — | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Streethouse | 1,691 | 1.8 | — | B+ | D− | D |
| Pontefract | 32,982 | 2.3 | C+ | B+ | D | C− |
| Sharlston | 2,163 | 2.4 | — | B | C− | D |
| Ackworth Moor Top | 6,275 | 2.5 | B | B− | C+ | A− |
| Normanton | 21,976 | 2.9 | C+ | B+ | D | C− |
| Castleford | 45,363 | 3 | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Crofton | 6,127 | 3.2 | B | B− | C+ | C+ |
Streethouse and Sharlston 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 63% of towns in England, and primary results trail 92% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £177,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £90,000, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £275,000.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Featherstone is a built-up area of 11,657 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.
