Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, this large town has 34,853 residents.
Fewer journeys need a car: 20% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Pupils here do better than most (B+): primary results beat 87% of towns in England; secondary results beat 47% of towns in England. Safety lags: 34.8 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 20.3 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 71%. Buying the median home, at £227,500, takes 4.5 years of household income in the Leeds council area. Health lags: life expectancy 79 for men, 82.2 for women. The overall grade lands at B−, #44 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Nationally, it does better than 52% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
The 2 things Pudsey 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 Pudsey is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 58 buildings inside Pudsey’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
21% 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 1902.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Pudsey. Best known first.
GardenPudsey Parkin town
MuseumNational Science and Media Museum3.6 km outside town, to the west · 442K visitors a year (2015)
CathedralBradford Cathedral2.9 km outside town, to the west
Abbey or prioryKirkstall Abbey (Ruins)3.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumBradford Industrial Museum1.6 km outside town, to the west
MuseumLeeds Industrial Museum4 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pudsey.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Pudsey logged 2,756 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 372 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences were 39% of the crimes. There were 10.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than 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.
Some 7,059 pupils attend Pudsey’s ten primaries and three secondaries. Below are three of its 13 schools, each with why it was picked. Secondary results at the town’s 3 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 44.9, with 45% at grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pudsey Primrose Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 470 | A |
| Pudsey Grammar SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,358 | C+ |
| Lowtown Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 208 | A |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 36% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.7% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. The car took 77% of commuters, above West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. There are 0.8 jobs in Pudsey for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
5 GP practices serve the town; 70% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 4.6% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Pudsey is Leeds General Infirmary, 4.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Pudsey | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as 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.
Before 1919: that is when 21% of homes were built. Pudsey has 58 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I. The register of parks and gardens lists one here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
18% of households rent privately. Social housing holds 12% of households, below West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £1,145 a month across the Leeds council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £400,000 | 178 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 558 |
| Terraced | £210,000 | 632 |
| Flat or maisonette | £138,000 | 137 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Degrees are held by 35% of adults. Pudsey has a median age of 40.5. Children under 15 make up 18% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Pudsey | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.6% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
58 listed buildings in Pudsey, 1 of them Grade I.
Fulneck Moravian Chapel and Attached Ranges to Either Side Including the Boys' School and Girls' School: Photo: RichTea · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pudsey Cemetery: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · Church of St Paul: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · Fulneck Shop: Photo: Warofdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0
31 notable people were born in Pudsey.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe: Charles Willson Peale, Public domain · Tom Taiwo: Carlisleprogrammes, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Matthew Hoggard: Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Samuel Marsden: Artist not credited, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Richard Hutton: Dave Morton, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pudsey | 34,853 | — | B− | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Calverley | 3,988 | 2 | B+ | C− | C+ | A− |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 3.2 | C+ | C | C− | C+ |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 3.2 | C+ | C+ | C | C |
| Rawdon | 6,738 | 3.6 | B+ | D | C+ | A |
| Bradford | 333,968 | 3.7 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 4 | B | A− | C | C+ |
| Oakenshaw | 1,571 | 4.6 | — | A− | D | C− |
Oakenshaw has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Pudsey is £2,272 for 2026–27, less than in 78% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Secondary results are closer to the middle, trailing 53%.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Pudsey is a built-up area of 34,853 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.