Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,148 in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Garforth grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 81% of UK towns, and #11 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is schools (A): primary results beat 90% of towns in England; secondary results beat 86% of towns in England. Its weakest is cost of living (C): median sale £265,000, 5.3 years of area income; rent £1,145 a month.
The 3 things Garforth 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 Garforth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 7 buildings inside Garforth’s built-up area.
10% 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 Garforth.
East Garforth Primary Academy’s results beat 98% of schools in England like it. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lane Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 445 | A |
| Garforth AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,897 | A− |
| East Garforth Primary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 208 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Garforth’s land, 100% lies in conservation areas, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (7%). Homes from before 1919 make up 10% of the total. Garforth has 7 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Garforth, that is above both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). 15% of residents are children under 15. Half the people of Garforth are older than 46.8.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Garforth | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Garforth sits below both West Yorkshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. The car carried 80% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
That puts Garforth above both West Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). 8% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £419,950 | 183 |
| Semi-detached | £255,000 | 413 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 104 |
| Flat or maisonette | £150,000 | 27 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
82% of Garforth’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across West Yorkshire’s towns. 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 | Garforth | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Police recorded 767 crimes inside Garforth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 135 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 43% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Garforth. Best known first.
MuseumTemple Newsam House3.4 km outside town, to the west
Historic houseLotherton Hall3.5 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttractionBE1150 Dragline3.3 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkGo Ape - Treetop Adventure3 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionAmphitheatre3.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumColton Medieval Village2.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
7 listed buildings in Garforth.
Aberford Road Bridge, HUL4/18: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin: Photo: Rcsprinter123 · CC BY 3.0
12 notable people were born in Garforth.
Jim Birch: J.W.Birch, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kevin Rudd: Graham Rudd, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garforth | 15,148 | — | A− | C | B− | B |
| Kippax | 10,299 | 1.6 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C |
| Micklefield | 2,064 | 2.2 | — | C− | D | C |
| Swillington | 3,077 | 2.3 | B− | C+ | C | C |
| Barwick in Elmet | 2,180 | 2.8 | — | D | B+ | A− |
| Allerton Bywater | 6,958 | 2.8 | C+ | B− | C− | C |
| Scholes (Leeds) | 2,270 | 3.2 | — | D | A− | A |
| Aberford | 1,551 | 3.3 | — | D | A | A− |
Micklefield, Barwick in Elmet, Scholes (Leeds) and Aberford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 86% of towns in England, and primary results beat 90% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
It has less crime than most places its size: less crime per resident than 76% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades B−.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Garforth is a built-up area of 15,148 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.
