Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,177 in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Hemsworth grades D overall against UK towns: better than 8% of UK towns, and #88 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 17% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D−): 63.7 violent and sexual offences and 24.6 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 2%. The median home sold for £175,750 in the last three years, 3.9 times what households in the Wakefield council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Hemsworth 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 Hemsworth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Hemsworth’s built-up area.
17% 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 Hemsworth.
Hemsworth sits below both West Yorkshire’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (34%) on this measure. 22% of residents are 65 or over. Hemsworth has a median age of 44.6.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hemsworth | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 31% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 18% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grove Lea Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 244 | A− |
| Outwood Academy HemsworthLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,101 | D |
| West End AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 187 | A |
Violent crime ran at 63.7 per 1,000 residents a year, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (31.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 1,106 crimes inside Hemsworth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 158 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Hemsworth records more crime per resident than 98% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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
That puts Hemsworth below both West Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 81.4 on average and men to 75.7 (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 | Hemsworth | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 73% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Conservation areas cover 100% of Hemsworth’s land, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (7%). Hemsworth has 6 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
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Hemsworth is below both West Yorkshire’s towns (£52K) and England’s towns (£55K). For 31% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
In the comparison, Hemsworth comes above both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up 15% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £260,000 | 85 |
| Semi-detached | £185,000 | 143 |
| Terraced | £122,000 | 109 |
| Flat or maisonette | £102,500 | 18 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
39 notable people were born in Hemsworth.
John Radford: Kroon, Ron for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · William Jerome Harrison: Moss Engraving Co., Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hemsworth | 9,177 | — | D | B | D− | D |
| Brierley | 2,714 | 1.5 | C− | B− | C+ | D− |
| South Hiendley | 1,750 | 1.5 | — | B | C+ | D |
| Fitzwilliam and Kinsley | 4,993 | 1.6 | D− | B | D− | D− |
| South Kirkby | 8,880 | 1.8 | D− | B | D− | D− |
| Ackworth Moor Top | 6,275 | 2.3 | B | B− | C+ | A− |
| Grimethorpe | 5,065 | 2.5 | C− | A− | D− | D− |
| Havercroft and Ryhill | 5,204 | 2.5 | C | B+ | D | D |
South Hiendley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Police recorded 1,106 crimes inside Hemsworth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 50% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £102,500, terraced houses £122,000, semi-detached houses £185,000 and detached houses £260,000.
GCSE results trail 92% of towns in England, and primary results beat 62% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Hemsworth is a built-up area of 9,177 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.