Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It skews older: 23% of residents are 65 or over. It is a large town of 21,854 residents in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
School results are strong: primary results beat 89% of towns in England; secondary results beat 72% of towns in England. With a B overall, Ossett is better than 58% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #35 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Buying the median home, at £210,000, takes 4.6 years of household income in the Wakefield council area. Crime runs high: 33.8 violent and sexual offences and 13.6 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 44%. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for jobs & income, B− for walkability 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 · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Ossett 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 Ossett is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 11 buildings inside Ossett’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
16% 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 Ossett. Best known first.
CastleSandal Castle4.4 km outside town, to the east
CathedralWakefield Cathedral3.8 km outside town, to the east
Art galleryThe Hepworth Wakefield4.1 km outside town, to the east
MuseumNational Coal Mining Museum3.6 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumWakefield Museum3.4 km outside town, to the east
MuseumDewsbury Bus Museum4.7 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 Ossett.
Some 3,817 pupils attend Ossett’s nine primaries and one secondary. Of its 11 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 70% of pupils at the town’s 7 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossett South Parade PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 418 | C+ |
| Ossett Academy and Sixth Form CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,699 | B+ |
| Ossett Southdale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 336 | A+ |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 1,360 recorded crimes inside Ossett’s built-up area, and 209 reports of anti-social behaviour. 48% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 9.5 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Grade II* covers 1 of them. Historic England’s list names 11 listed buildings in Ossett: 1 Grade II*. Relative to its size, Ossett keeps 5 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below West Yorkshire’s towns (25) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; 72% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Women here live to 82.9 on average and men to 78.3 (2019–23). Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Ossett is Dewsbury and District Hospital, 3.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ossett | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.4% | 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.
25% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 23% of the town, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Ossett is 45 years old.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ossett | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Owners make up two thirds of households, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (61%) and England’s towns (61%). Private rents average £806 a month across the Wakefield council area. The median sale, £210,000, comes from 802 standard sales inside Ossett’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £333,500 | 174 |
| Semi-detached | £220,000 | 321 |
| Terraced | £172,000 | 241 |
| Flat or maisonette | £131,250 | 66 |
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 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 14% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Nearly two in five commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%). Household income averages £47K a year before tax. About 16% of its commuters stay in Ossett for work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
11 listed buildings in Ossett.
The Holme Leas Inn: Photo: Epa101 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Town Hall: Photo: Thedmcmeister · CC BY 3.0 · Sowood Farmhouse: Photo: Epa101 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Primitive Methodist Chapel: Photo: Epa101 · CC BY-SA 4.0
13 notable people were born in Ossett.
Colin Sturgess: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Richard Wood: Dan1980, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eli Marsden Wilson: photographer: "Russell", Public domain · Jay Pitts: http://picasaweb.google.com/barrau.gerard, CC BY-SA 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ossett | 21,854 | — | B | B+ | C | C |
| Horbury | 9,868 | 1.5 | B− | B+ | D | C |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 2.3 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Middlestown and Overton | 2,409 | 2.4 | — | B− | C+ | C+ |
| Netherton (Wakefield) | 2,331 | 2.5 | — | B− | B+ | B− |
| Wakefield | 97,871 | 2.9 | C | B | D− | D |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 3.1 | B | B | C | B− |
| East Ardsley | 15,238 | 3.2 | C+ | C+ | C− | C+ |
Middlestown and Overton and Netherton (Wakefield) have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Secondary results beat 72%.
About the middle for its size: 56% 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.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £210,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £131,250, terraced houses £172,000, semi-detached houses £220,000 and detached houses £333,500.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Ossett is a built-up area of 21,854 people, in the Wakefield 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.