What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. With a C overall, Huddersfield sits #75 of 91 in West Yorkshire. That leaves it better than 28% of UK towns. Police record more crime here than in most towns: 57.1 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 18.5 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has more crime per resident than 83%. Cost of living is its strong suit: the median home sold for £179,475, 3.7 years of area income. Health lags (D): men here can expect to live to 77.1, women to 80.8.
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 Huddersfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Huddersfield.
Safety
Per resident, Huddersfield sees more crime than 95% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 15,809 crimes and 1,573 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Huddersfield’s built-up area. Violence and sexual offences made up 46% of the total. There were 10.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
57.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 17% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual7,241
Public order1,551
Shoplifting1,255
Damage & arson1,208
Other theft1,174
Vehicle crime783
Drugs776
Burglary724
Anti-social1,573
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.
57.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
18.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
SchoolsC
Huddersfield’s schools fall behind 74% of towns in England on results
Secondary results at the town’s 8 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 44.3, with 40% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Spring Grove Junior Infant and Nursery School’s results beat nearly every one of schools in England like it. At the town’s 31 primary schools, 57% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Below are three of its 47 schools, each with why it was picked.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 47 schools →
History
1,248 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Huddersfield’s listed buildings include Banney Royd, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Huddersfield has 88 listed buildings per 10,000 people, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). 30% of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade A
Huddersfield is graded an A for cost of living grade
24% rent privately, above West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Private rents average £782 a month across the Kirklees council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 4,606 homes sold inside Huddersfield’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £179,475.
£179Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Huddersfield£179K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£355,000
842
Semi-detached
£200,000
1,573
Terraced
£140,000
1,867
Flat or maisonette
£111,250
324
58%
of households own their home · England 61%
24%
rent privately · England 21%
£782
average private rent a month, Kirklees council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
Lifespans in Huddersfield run shorter than in 87% of UK towns
24 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, four fifths of people in Huddersfield called their health good or very good, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.1% of the town.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
More people aged 16 to 64 in Huddersfield claim unemployment benefits than in West Yorkshire’s towns or England’s towns: 5.7%
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Half of commuters who live in Huddersfield also work there. The town counts 1.1 jobs per working resident. Household income came to £45K a year before tax, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (£52K) and England’s towns (£55K). For 54% 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
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for England
People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town, near West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and higher than England’s towns (12%). Huddersfield has a median age of 37.7. Children under 15 make up 19% of residents.
37.7median age
HuddersfieldWest YorkshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications21%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level31%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Harold Wilson: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC0 · Fraizer Campbell: dom fellowes from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Cameron Jerome: Struway, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gorden Kaye: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Karen Spärck Jones: en:user:Markus Kuhn, CC BY 2.5
Outlane has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Huddersfield
How many listed buildings are there in Huddersfield?
That is 3.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Banney Royd. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Is Huddersfield expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £179,475, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £111,250, terraced houses £140,000, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £355,000.
Are schools in Huddersfield good?
GCSE results trail 66% of towns in England, and primary results trail 74% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
About Huddersfield
City in West Yorkshire, England
Huddersfield is a built-up area of 141,683 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
Population
141,683 (Census 2021)
Council
Kirklees (mostly)
County
West Yorkshire
Region
Yorkshire and The Humber
Area
15 sq mi (38.9 km²)
ONS code
E63001017
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.
