Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 4,775 residents in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber. Primary school results beat 91% of towns in England.
Ripponden’s strongest is health — life expectancy 82.9 for men, 86.5 for women. What counts against it is walkability — 12% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Buying the median home, at £241,500, takes 5.1 years of household income in the Calderdale council area. All told, that adds up to an A+ overall, better than 96% of UK towns. It ranks #1 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · flood risk, Environment Agency.
The 3 things Ripponden 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 Ripponden is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 48 buildings inside Ripponden’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
41% 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 Ripponden.
One GP practice serves the town; 93% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 2.6% 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%). Disability touches 13% of Ripponden’s population. Men in Ripponden can expect to live to 82.9, women to 86.5 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Ripponden | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.6% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 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.
St John's Primary School In Rishworth’s results beat 95% of schools in England like it. Both of its schools are shown below. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 72% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripponden Junior and Infant SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 171 | B− |
| St John's Primary School In RishworthTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 152 | A+ |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Relative to its size, Ripponden keeps 101 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Of the town’s land, 2% lies in conservation areas, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (96%) and England’s towns (7%). Grade II* covers 1 of them. The town has 48 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds 7% of households. 16% rent privately, lower than both West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £756 a month across the Calderdale council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £425,000 | 61 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 33 |
| Terraced | £225,000 | 79 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 65 |
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 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Income per household averages £60K a year, before tax. The car took 85% of commuters, above West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. Working from home was the norm for 38% of workers at the census. Work in town: a tenth of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Of all the crimes, 48% were violence and sexual offences. Police recorded 170 crimes inside Ripponden’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 20 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 3.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below West Yorkshire’s towns (7.1) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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 median resident of Ripponden is 44.1 years old. Children are 18% of the town. 18% of residents have reached 65.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ripponden | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 42% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ripponden. Best known first.
48 listed buildings in Ripponden.
Butchers Arms: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · Rishworth Baptist Church: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Church of St Bartholomew: Photo: Tim Green · CC BY 2.0 · 1. 2 and 3 Upper Goat House: Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripponden | 4,775 | — | A+ | B+ | B | A |
| Sowerby Bridge | 4,483 | 2.6 | C+ | A | D− | C− |
| Holywell Green and Stainland | 2,799 | 3 | B+ | A− | C | C |
| Outlane | 1,172 | 3 | — | A− | B− | B− |
| Luddenden Foot | 2,148 | 3.9 | — | A | D | C+ |
| Elland | 15,788 | 4.4 | B | A | D | C− |
| Mytholmroyd | 3,852 | 4.5 | B− | A− | C− | C+ |
| Halifax | 88,111 | 4.7 | C+ | A | D− | D |
Outlane and Luddenden Foot have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 4.1 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
GCSE results beat 81% of towns in England, and primary results beat 91% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). Ripponden has 2 state schools; places are handled by Calderdale council.
About the middle for its size: 41% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, it grades B.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Ripponden is a built-up area of 4,775 people, in the Calderdale 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.