Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. 13,368 people live in this town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Heckmondwike ranks #60 of 91 in West Yorkshire, with a C+ overall. That leaves it better than 40% of UK towns. Crime is the sore point: 54.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 21.4 home and vehicle crimes. Only 7% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Housing is within reach (A): the median home sold for £170,000, 3.5 years of area income. It is strong on schools as well (A−) — primary results beat 90% of towns in England; secondary results beat 57% of towns in England. Health lags: men here can expect to live to 76.4, women to 79.8.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Heckmondwike is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Heckmondwike does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 18 buildings inside Heckmondwike’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →18 listed buildings in Heckmondwike.
Upper Independent Chapel: Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St James: Photo: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Midland Bank: Photo: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Heckmondwike.
Police figures for Heckmondwike’s built-up area: 1,388 crimes and 181 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.5 reports per 1,000, above West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total.
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.
Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 71% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the 10 secondary schools within 3 km averages 46.8, and 47% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heckmondwike Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 411 | A |
| Heckmondwike Grammar SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,522 | A+ |
3 GP practices serve the town; nearly four in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Self-reported good health: 78% of Heckmondwike’s residents. 6.3% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike.
| Census 2021 | Heckmondwike | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
15% live in social housing, below West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £782 a month across the Kirklees council area. Behind the median of £170,000: 371 standard sales inside Heckmondwike’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £250,000 | 59 |
| Semi-detached | £176,000 | 172 |
| Terraced | £140,000 | 123 |
| Flat or maisonette | £72,500 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
The car took 79% of commuters, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Heckmondwike counts 0.6 jobs per working resident. Work in town: a tenth of resident commuters. Income per household averages £42K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 23%. Grade II* covers 2 of them. For its size, Heckmondwike has 13 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People 65 and over make up 15% of the town, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Heckmondwike has a median age of 36.7 years. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Heckmondwike | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 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 Heckmondwike. Best known first.
Historic houseRed House Museum1.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseOakwell Hall2.1 km outside town, to the north
MuseumDewsbury Bus Museum1.8 km outside town, to the south
ZooPonderosa Zoo200 m outside town, to the south
MuseumBagshaw Museum1.6 km outside town, to the northeastHistoric houseHistoric houseBaden Powell Hall4.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
9 notable people were born in Heckmondwike.
Thomas Archer Hirst: Unknown, believed to be in the PD., Public domain
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Heckmondwike is a built-up area of 13,368 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
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | — | C+ | A | D | D |
| Batley | 44,494 | 1.1 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 1.4 | C+ | A | D | C− |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 2.3 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Cleckheaton | 11,607 | 2.4 | C | A | D− | C− |
| Mirfield | 19,614 | 2.4 | B− | B+ | C | C+ |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 2.5 | B | A− | C | C+ |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 3 | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £170,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £72,500, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £176,000 and detached houses £250,000.
Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 57%. Heckmondwike has 3 state schools; places are handled by Kirklees council.
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.