Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
14,549 residents make their home in this town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Plenty to like here, at a price. Its best grade is for schools — primary results beat 72% of towns in England; secondary results beat 91% of towns in England. Otley ranks #25 of 91 in West Yorkshire, with a B+ overall. It comes out better than 66% of UK towns. Walkability is a strength too (A−): on the way to work, 22% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. What counts against it is cost of living — a typical home costs £281,500 and rent runs £1,135 a month. Natural hazards weigh more here: 5.1% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Otley 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 Otley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 149 buildings inside Otley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
26% 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 Otley.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 26%. Otley’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of All Saints, Grade I. For its size, Otley has 102 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Of the town’s 149 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, Grade I counts 1 and Grade II* 2.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Attainment 8 at the 3 secondary schools within 3 km averages 53.8, and 63% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College’s results beat 77% of schools in England like it. Of its 6 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 66% of pupils at the town’s 5 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westgate Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 226 | B |
| Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,641 | A− |
| Otley All Saints CofE Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 212 | A− |
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Children under 15 make up 16%, below West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Otley has a median age of 48 years. Among adults, 40% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Otley | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · 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.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.9% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 76% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Work in town: a quarter of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Otley has 0.6 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private renters make up 13% of households, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). The social rented sector houses 14% of households. Half of the 560 standard sales inside Otley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £281,500.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £465,000 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £287,000 | 189 |
| Terraced | £260,000 | 231 |
| Flat or maisonette | £180,000 | 51 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
2 GP practices serve the town; 82% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Otley is Bradford Royal Infirmary, 8.2 miles away. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4.8% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Otley | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.8% | 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 shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Violence and sexual offences were nearly two fifths of the crimes. Police figures for Otley’s built-up area: 858 crimes and 120 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violent crime ran at 25.6 per 1,000 residents a year, below West Yorkshire’s towns (31.8) but above England’s towns (22).
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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Otley. Best known first.
Historic houseFarnley Hall1 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumSecond World War Experience Centrein townMuseumMuseumThe Ron Kitching Libraryin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
149 listed buildings in Otley, 1 of them Grade I.
The Old Hall: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 16 Manor Square: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · The Old Cock: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Otley Methodist Church: Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 4.0
24 notable people were born in Otley.
Julian Sands: 5of7, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thomas Chippendale: Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lizzie Deignan: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mike Tindall: veryamateurish, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Craig Adams: Leticia Chamorro, CC BY 2.0 · William Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton: Leslie Ward, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otley | 14,549 | — | B+ | C− | C+ | B+ |
| Menston | 5,905 | 2.2 | A | D | B | A+ |
| Burley in Wharfedale | 6,806 | 2.3 | A+ | C− | B+ | A |
| Guiseley | 12,462 | 2.6 | A− | C− | C | A |
| Pool-in-Wharfedale | 1,991 | 2.9 | — | D | A | A+ |
| Yeadon | 14,273 | 3.1 | B− | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Bramhope | 3,593 | 3.9 | A− | D− | B | A+ |
| Rawdon | 6,738 | 4.2 | B+ | D | C+ | A |
Pool-in-Wharfedale has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of All Saints.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Secondary schools stand out: GCSE results beat 91% of towns in England. Primary results beat 72%.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Otley is a built-up area of 14,549 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.