A tough set of grades. Taken together, its subjects give Leeds a C− overall, better than 15% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #83 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its weakest is safety — police record 65.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 29.8 home and vehicle crimes. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 4%. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A+): nearly a third of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Buying the median home, at £230,000, takes 4.6 years of household income in the Leeds council area.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Leeds is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Leeds.
Safety
Crime per resident in Leeds is higher than in 99% 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.
Police figures for Leeds’s built-up area: 75,840 crimes and 6,819 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. For its size, Leeds records more crime per resident than 96% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 12.3 reports per 1,000, above West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 41% of recorded crime.
65.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearD−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 4% 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 & sexual31,081
Shoplifting8,236
Public order6,121
Other theft5,720
Damage & arson5,675
Vehicle crime4,567
Burglary4,486
Drugs3,156
Anti-social6,819
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.
65.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
29.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.3
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+
Results at Leeds’s schools trail 57% of towns in England
Beecroft Primary School’s results beat 96% of schools in England like it. Three of its 176 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Leeds’s 136 primaries and 28 secondaries have 80,215 pupils between them.
5.9% of 16 to 64s in Leeds claim unemployment benefits, more than in West Yorkshire’s towns and across England’s towns
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.
For 53% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 69% of commuters who live in Leeds also work there. This West Yorkshire town counts 1.6 jobs per working resident. The car took 63% of commuters, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
Leeds skews young, with 18% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in West Yorkshire’s towns and across England’s towns
13% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Leeds has a median age of 33.4 years. Among adults, 35% have a degree.
33.4median age
LeedsWest YorkshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
18%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications19%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar19%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
Leeds’s life expectancy trails 90% of UK towns
59 GP practices serve the town; 77% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 83% of Leeds’ residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than West Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and near England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Leeds is Leeds General Infirmary, 0.6 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
History
A town of 1,223 listed buildings, 12 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 58 of them, Grade I 12. Leeds’s listed buildings include the Church of St John, Grade I. Conservation areas cover 100% of Leeds’ land, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C+
Home ownership in Leeds, 48%, runs below West Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
25% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up 26% of households, above West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Half of the 15,652 standard sales inside Leeds’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £230,000.
Peter O'Toole: ABC TV, Public domain · Erling Haaland: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Malcolm McDowell: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Nevill Francis Mott: GFHund, CC BY 3.0 · James Milner: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tom Wilkinson: TomWilkinsonMar09.jpg: Andre Luis at https://www.flickr.com/photos/35982589@N07/ derivative work: RanZag, CC BY-SA 3.0
Shadwell and Scholes (Leeds) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Leeds
Does Leeds flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Leeds
City in West Yorkshire, England
Leeds is a built-up area of 536,262 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
Population
536,262 (Census 2021)
Council
Leeds
County
West Yorkshire
Region
Yorkshire and The Humber
Area
46.3 sq mi (120 km²)
ONS code
E63000784
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.
