Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,033 in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Kirkburton grades A− overall against UK towns: better than 82% of UK towns, and #10 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is jobs & income (A−): mean household income £62,856; 1.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Its weakest is walkability (C): 10% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median home sold for £252,500 in the last three years, 5.3 times what households in the Kirklees council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Kirkburton 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 Kirkburton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 19 buildings inside Kirkburton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
30% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1861.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kirkburton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 32% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Kirkburton sits below both West Yorkshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. The car carried 88% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkburton CofE (VA) First SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 117 | – |
| Kirkburton Middle SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 495 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Kirkburton above both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%). Kirkburton’s listed buildings include Church of All Hallows, Grade I. Kirkburton has 19 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
On this, Kirkburton is below both West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Kirkburton is Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, 5.4 miles away. 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 | Kirkburton | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 85% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
In the comparison, Kirkburton comes above both West Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 7% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £405,000 | 68 |
| Semi-detached | £245,000 | 53 |
| Terraced | £173,050 | 63 |
| Flat or maisonette | £80,000 | 13 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Police recorded 162 crimes inside Kirkburton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 38 reports of anti-social behaviour. Homes saw 9.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below West Yorkshire’s towns (12.7) and close to England’s towns (9.4). Violence and sexual offences were 53% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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
For Kirkburton, that is above both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.7% of residents. Kirkburton has a median age of 46.4.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Kirkburton | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 38% | 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 Kirkburton. Best known first.
MuseumTolson Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northwest
Art galleryHuddersfield Library and Art Gallery4.9 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumHeritage Quay4.6 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumSkelmanthorpe Textile Heritage Centre3.4 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteVictoria Tower3.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
19 listed buildings in Kirkburton, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of All Hallows: Photo: Eric Hindle · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Market cross at Highburton: Photo: Eric Hindle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Springfield Mill: Photo: Eric Hindle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Smiths Arms Public House: Photo: Eric Hindle · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkburton | 4,033 | — | A− | B+ | B | B+ |
| Shelley | 2,696 | 1.2 | A | B− | A | A− |
| Lepton | 4,950 | 1.4 | B+ | B+ | B− | B |
| Shepley | 2,515 | 2.1 | A | B | A | A− |
| Grange Moor | 1,118 | 2.4 | — | B+ | B+ | B |
| Skelmanthorpe | 4,458 | 2.8 | B | B | C+ | C+ |
| Emley | 1,433 | 3 | — | C+ | B+ | C+ |
| Flockton | 1,732 | 3.1 | — | B | B− | B− |
Grange Moor, Emley and Flockton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 1.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of All Hallows. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
GCSE results beat 70% of towns in England, and primary results beat 57% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Kirkburton has 2 state schools; places are handled by Kirklees council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Kirkburton is a built-up area of 4,033 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
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.