Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
41% of households own their home outright. A town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, home to 19,614 people.
Mirfield grades B− overall, better than half of UK towns. The ranking puts it #48 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Safety lags: 33.3 violent and sexual offences and 13.8 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 45%. It lags on hazard risk as well: 4.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Its strongest is cost of living: a typical home costs £239,995 and rent runs £782 a month. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools, C+ for health, B for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Mirfield 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 Mirfield is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 42 buildings inside Mirfield’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
19% 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 1905.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Mirfield.
9.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below West Yorkshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. One measure of family life: 16% of residents are under 15. Line up the people of Mirfield by age and the one in the middle is 46.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Mirfield | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 24% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below are three of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. Hopton Primary School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. Secondary results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 44.1, with 46% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossley Fields Junior and Infant SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 482 | C |
| The Mirfield Free GrammarLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,300 | C+ |
| Hopton Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 306 | A− |
Police recorded 1,359 crimes inside Mirfield’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 239 reports of anti-social behaviour. Of all the crimes, 48% were violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.7 reports per 1,000, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8).
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.
14% rent privately, below West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Social renters account for just over one in ten households. Also worth knowing: half of the 907 standard sales inside Mirfield’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £239,995.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £372,500 | 253 |
| Semi-detached | £237,000 | 371 |
| Terraced | £170,000 | 201 |
| Flat or maisonette | £119,000 | 82 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 79% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Mirfield is Dewsbury and District Hospital, 2.3 miles away. Men in Mirfield can expect to live to 80.5, women to 82.8 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Mirfield | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 3 of them. Of Mirfield’s land, 1% lies in conservation areas, below West Yorkshire’s towns (96%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Nearly a fifth of homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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.
There are 0.6 jobs in Mirfield for each resident in work. The car took just over four in five commuters, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). 40% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Mirfield. Best known first.
MuseumTolson Museum3.6 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumDewsbury Bus Museum600 m outside town, to the east
MuseumNational Coal Mining Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southeast
ZooPonderosa Zoo800 m outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseRed House Museum4.2 km outside town, to the north
MuseumBagshaw Museum4.8 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
42 listed buildings in Mirfield.
Church of St Mary: Photo: Yorks_LF, from the English · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hopton Congregational Church: Photo: John Slater · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Old Rectory: Photo: John P Coates · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Calder and Hebble Navigation Flood Lock at Newgate Bridge: Photo: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
17 notable people were born in Mirfield.
Patrick Stewart: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brian Robinson: Harry Pot for Anefo ), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 911-3757, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · David Whyte: Eugene Kim, CC BY 2.0 · Albert Hitchen: Brian Townsley, CC BY 2.0 · Rebecca Womersley: Cs-wolves, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirfield | 19,614 | — | B− | B+ | C | C+ |
| Kirkheaton | 3,492 | 2 | B | A− | C | B− |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 2.1 | C+ | A | D | C− |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 2.4 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 2.6 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Grange Moor | 1,118 | 3.1 | — | B+ | B+ | B |
| Cleckheaton | 11,607 | 3.2 | C | A | D− | C− |
| Lepton | 4,950 | 3.3 | B+ | B+ | B− | B |
Grange Moor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 55% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Mirfield is a built-up area of 19,614 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.