Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 32,562 residents, it is a large town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
The picture is mixed. Its best grade is for schools — primary results beat 78% of towns in England; secondary results beat 82% of towns in England. Homes sell for a median £215,000, about 4.3 years of what households in the Leeds council area earn. Where it falls short is safety — 46.9 violent and sexual offences and 20.3 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 14%. All told, that adds up to a B− overall and a rank of #47 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than half of UK towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The thing Morley 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 Morley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 49 buildings inside Morley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Morley. Best known first.
CathedralLeeds Cathedral4.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumRoyal Armouries4.4 km outside town, to the northeast
Art galleryLeeds Art Gallery4.3 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumLeeds City Museum4.5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumLeeds Industrial Museum3.6 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseOakwell Hall2.8 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Morley.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Morley came to 3,357 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 346. For its size, Morley records more crime per resident than 86% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Of all the crimes, 44% were 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.
GCSE results at the town’s 2 secondary schools: 56% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 51.5. St Francis Catholic Primary School, Morley’s results beat 95% of schools in England like it. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the town’s 7 primary schools, two thirds of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morley Newlands AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 678 | B |
| The Morley AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,410 | A− |
| St Francis Catholic Primary School, MorleyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 252 | A+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 1.3 jobs in Morley for each resident in work. Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, above West Yorkshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. Also worth knowing: for just over two in five commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living locally, 23% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
3 GP practices serve the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Morley is Dewsbury and District Hospital, 3.8 miles away. Men in Morley can expect to live to 79.5, women to 83.1 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Morley | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Morley has 49 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I. Its listed buildings include The Town Hall, Grade I. 20% of its homes were built before 1919, close to West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and above England’s towns (16%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
13% live in social housing, below West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,145 a month across the Leeds council area. The median sale, £215,000, comes from 1,450 standard sales inside Morley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £369,950 | 279 |
| Semi-detached | £235,000 | 468 |
| Terraced | £176,500 | 519 |
| Flat or maisonette | £125,000 | 184 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Morley has a median age of 39.4. Children under 15 make up 17%, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). Graduates make up 31% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Morley | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 31% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
49 listed buildings in Morley, 1 of them Grade I.
Railway viaduct MDL1/40, Churwell Viaduct: Photo: Ian Kirk (Zath Ras) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · St Mary's in the Wood Church Hall: Photo: Mark Stevenson · CC BY 2.0 · Commercial Street Mill and Attached Chimney: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Barclays Bank and Figure Fitness Centre: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0
27 notable people were born in Morley.
H. H. Asquith: Bain News Service, Public domain · Helen Fielding: HFprofemail at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jonny Howson: Peterdavidson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Beverley Callard: Man Alive!, CC BY 2.0 · Titus Salt: Illustration from Harper's Monthly, vol. 44, 1872., Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morley | 32,562 | — | B− | B− | D | C |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 1.5 | C+ | C+ | C | C |
| East Ardsley | 15,238 | 2.1 | C+ | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 2.6 | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
| Batley | 44,494 | 2.7 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 3.1 | — | B− | C | C |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 3.8 | C+ | A | D | D |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 3.9 | B | A− | C | C+ |
Thorpe on the Hill has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
GCSE results beat 82% of towns in England, and primary results beat 78% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £215,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £125,000, terraced houses £176,500, semi-detached houses £235,000 and detached houses £369,950.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Morley is a built-up area of 32,562 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
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.