Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The large town has 20,964 residents and lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Safety lags: 35.4 violent and sexual offences and 17.9 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 32%. Health is a weak point: life expectancy is 79.3 for men and 82.3 for women. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (B): 16% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. A median £250,000 buys a home here, 5 times what households in the Leeds council area earn in a year. The overall grade lands at C, better than 32% of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #69 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for schools and B− for jobs & income.
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 · claimants, DWP.
The 2 things Rothwell 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 Rothwell is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 27 buildings inside Rothwell’s built-up area, 3 of them Grade II*.
13% 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 Rothwell. Best known first.
CathedralLeeds Cathedral4.7 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumRoyal Armouries3.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Art galleryLeeds Art Gallery4.7 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumTemple Newsam House2.6 km outside town, to the north
MuseumLeeds City Museum4.8 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseOulton Hall300 m outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rothwell.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
46% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Over the year to August 2026, 1,426 offences were reported in Rothwell, along with 229 incidents of anti-social behaviour. There were 12.3 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), 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.
Two of its 8 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. 58% of pupils at the town’s 6 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). GCSE results at the 5 secondary schools within 3 km: 47% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 46.7.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodlesford Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 442 | B+ |
| Oulton AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,132 | B+ |
One GP practice serves the town; nearly two thirds of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 5.1% of residents report bad or very bad health. The nearest A&E to Rothwell is Pinderfields Hospital, 4.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Rothwell | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Owners make up 72% of households. The median sale, £250,000, comes from 916 standard sales inside Rothwell’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,145 a month across the Leeds council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £396,000 | 211 |
| Semi-detached | £240,000 | 435 |
| Terraced | £206,000 | 235 |
| Flat or maisonette | £162,000 | 35 |
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 35% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.8% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, above West Yorkshire’s towns (2.3%) and England’s towns (2.3%) alike. Driving is how just over four in five commuters got to work at the census. About 11% of its commuters stay in Rothwell for work. For every resident in work, Rothwell has 0.5 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Rothwell has 27 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 3 Grade II*. Homes from before 1919 make up 13% of the total, below West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. It has one registered historic park or garden.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Children under 15 make up 17% of residents. People 65 and over make up 20% of the town, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). Rothwell has a median age of 43.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Rothwell | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
27 listed buildings in Rothwell.
The Nookin: Photo: Samshots1 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 32, 34 and 36, Commercial Street: Photo: Mike Kirby · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Clock Tower at St.George's Hospital: Photo: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rothwell Infants School: Photo: Betty Longbottom · CC BY-SA 2.0
18 notable people were born in Rothwell.
Alan Smith: Toni Marsh, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jack Hunt: CLEMENATOR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · May Sybil Leslie: University of Leeds, Public domain · Jason Golden: Mortonstalker, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rothwell | 20,964 | — | C | C+ | C− | C |
| Lofthouse and Robin Hood | 4,187 | 1.7 | B | B− | C | C |
| Bottom Boat | 1,191 | 2.2 | — | A− | C− | C |
| Swillington | 3,077 | 2.4 | B− | C+ | C | C |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 2.6 | — | B− | C | C |
| Mickletown | 3,362 | 3.1 | B− | C+ | B− | C− |
| Methley | 1,196 | 3.3 | — | B− | B | C− |
| Allerton Bywater | 6,958 | 4 | C+ | B− | C− | C |
Bottom Boat, Thorpe on the Hill and Methley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 68% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Band D council tax in Rothwell 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.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Rothwell is a built-up area of 20,964 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.