Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber has a population of 3,691. Over-65s are 23% of the population.
The picture is mixed. Its schools beat most (A): primary results beat 87% of towns in England. Marsden’s overall grade is A−, better than 83% of UK towns. That places it #8 of 91 in West Yorkshire. What counts against it is hazard risk (C−): 2.6% of homes face a high or medium risk of river or sea flooding. Jobs & income is weaker too (C+): the mean household earns £49,855 a year. Homes sell for a median £210,000, about 4.4 years of what households in the Kirklees council area earn. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for safety and B− for health.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · income and life expectancy, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
The 3 things Marsden 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 Marsden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 59 buildings inside Marsden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
56% 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 Marsden.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Marsden has 160 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39). The town counts 59 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the 4 primary schools within 3 km, 70% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 2 schools, one is shown below, with the reason. Between them, two primaries teach 260 pupils in Marsden.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marsden Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 165 | B− |
12% of households live in social housing. The £210,000 median rests on 171 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £782 a month across the Kirklees council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £390,000 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £238,300 | 22 |
| Terraced | £199,000 | 116 |
| Flat or maisonette | £208,500 | 14 |
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 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 77% of commuters went by car. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.6% of 16 to 64s in 2026, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Marsden counts 0.4 jobs per working resident. About a tenth of its commuters stay in Marsden for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Graduates make up 37% of adults. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here. Residents of Marsden have a median age of 47.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Marsden | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 181 offences were reported in Marsden, along with 18 incidents of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime ran at 25.4 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than West Yorkshire’s towns (31.8) yet higher than England’s towns (22). 50% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
The nearest A&E to Marsden is Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, 5.9 miles away. At the census, 21% of people here had a disability, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 6.3% of the town. There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 2.4 miles off.
| Census 2021 | Marsden | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
59 listed buildings in Marsden.
Old New Inn: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chimney at Clough Lee Mills: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mechanics Institute: Photo: Stevekraken · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church of St Bartholomew: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0
6 notable people were born in Marsden.
Dora Marsden: G. C. Beresford, CC0 · Hilton Crowther: Unknown photographer c1919, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsden | 3,691 | — | A− | A− | C+ | B− |
| Linthwaite and Slaithwaite | 9,242 | 2.9 | B | A− | C− | C |
| Meltham | 8,325 | 3.2 | B− | B | C | B− |
| Outlane | 1,172 | 4.3 | — | A− | B− | B− |
| Delph | 2,282 | 4.6 | — | D− | — | B+ |
| Ripponden | 4,775 | 4.8 | A+ | B+ | B | A |
| Dobcross | 1,569 | 4.8 | — | D− | — | A− |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 4.9 | B− | B+ | C+ | C+ |
Outlane, Delph and Dobcross have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Delph and Dobcross have no Safety Grade: Greater Manchester Police doesn’t publish to police.uk. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 6.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary results beat 87% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). Marsden 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
Marsden is a built-up area of 3,691 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.