Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
14% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The town has 8,325 residents and lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
An even record, with no subject far from the norm. Crime is the sore point: 33.4 violent and sexual offences and 10.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 26%. At B− overall, Meltham is better than nearly half of UK towns and ranks #49 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Homes are affordable (B): a typical home costs £260,000 and rent runs £782 a month. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for schools, B− for health, B− for jobs & income, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Meltham 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 Meltham is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 32 buildings inside Meltham’s built-up area.
25% 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 Meltham.
Half the people of Meltham are older than 45.2. People aged 15 to 24 make up 9.6% of the town, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%). Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Meltham | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Meltham Moor Primary School’s results beat 81% of schools in England like it. Its three primaries have 721 pupils between them. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 55% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meltham CofE (VC) Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 386 | D |
| Meltham Moor Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 199 | A− |
Over the year to August 2026, 475 offences were reported in Meltham, along with 87 incidents of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Meltham records more crime per resident than 74% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence and sexual offences were 53% of the crimes.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Meltham’s land, 4% lies in conservation areas, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (96%) and England’s towns (7%). Its heritage register entries (32 listed buildings) are all Grade II.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11% live in social housing, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Renting privately is how 14% of households live. Behind the median of £260,000: 397 standard sales inside Meltham’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £380,000 | 131 |
| Semi-detached | £253,000 | 119 |
| Terraced | £185,000 | 131 |
| Flat or maisonette | £157,750 | 16 |
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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 83% of commuters went by car. 2.7% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above West Yorkshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. For every resident in work, Meltham has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Just over four fifths of Meltham’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across West Yorkshire’s towns.
| Census 2021 | Meltham | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Meltham. Best known first.
MuseumColne Valley Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseum · National TrustMarsden Moor Estate Exhibition4.3 km outside town, to the westHistoric siteHistoric siteVictoria Tower4.3 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
32 listed buildings in Meltham.
Meltham Hall: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 18 and 20, Holmfirth Road: Photo: michael ely · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Bartholomew: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · Bent Ley Mill: Photo: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meltham | 8,325 | — | B− | B | C | B− |
| Linthwaite and Slaithwaite | 9,242 | 2.1 | B | A− | C− | C |
| Netherton (Kirklees) | 3,151 | 2.3 | B− | B+ | C+ | C+ |
| Upperthong | 1,094 | 2.4 | — | C | A+ | A |
| Holmbridge | 1,219 | 2.7 | — | B | B− | A |
| Holmfirth | 4,982 | 3 | A− | B− | C | A |
| Marsden | 3,691 | 3.2 | A− | A− | C+ | B− |
| Honley | 14,399 | 3.2 | A− | B− | B− | A− |
Upperthong and Holmbridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 1.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Meltham is a built-up area of 8,325 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.