Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 29,228 residents, it is a large town in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Crime is the sore point: 57 violent and sexual offences and 23.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Set beside UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 94%. Shipley grades C+ overall, better than 37% of UK towns, and ranks #65 of 91 in West Yorkshire. It also trails on health: life expectancy 76.6 for men, 81.9 for women. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A): 26% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Cost of living is a strength too: a typical home costs £190,000 and rent runs £745 a month.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
The 3 things Shipley 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 Shipley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 116 buildings inside Shipley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
Part of the Saltaire World Heritage Site.
28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1902.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Shipley. Best known first.
MuseumThe Peace Museumin town
MuseumNational Science and Media Museum3.3 km outside town, to the south · 442K visitors a year (2015)
CathedralBradford Cathedral2.9 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryCartwright Hall Art Gallery1 km outside town, to the south
MuseumBradford Industrial Museum2.4 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBracken Hall Countryside Centre900 m outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Shipley.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Shipley came to 3,136 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 371. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.4 reports per 1,000, above both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 46% of the crimes.
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.
GCSE results at the 16 secondary schools within 3 km: 43% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 43.7. Of its 11 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason. 64% of pupils at the town’s 8 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Ash Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 478 | A− |
| Dixons Cottingley AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 861 | C+ |
| St Walburga's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 225 | A |
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.
52% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. Household income came to £47K a year before tax, below West Yorkshire’s towns (£52K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Shipley counts 0.9 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the census, nearly a fifth of people here had a disability, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%). 2 GP practices serve the town; nearly three quarters of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Self-reported good health: 80% of Shipley’s residents.
| Census 2021 | Shipley | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Shipley has 116 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 5 Grade II*. It is part of the Saltaire World Heritage Site. Of the town’s land, 7% lies in conservation areas, lower than West Yorkshire’s towns (96%) and near England’s towns (7%).
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Renting privately is how nearly a quarter of households live. 15% live in social housing, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). 1,123 standard sales inside Shipley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £190,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 89 |
| Semi-detached | £197,000 | 465 |
| Terraced | £190,000 | 417 |
| Flat or maisonette | £103,500 | 152 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
35% of adults hold a degree. Half of Shipley is older than 39, half younger. Children under 15 count for 18% of the people here.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Shipley | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
116 listed buildings in Shipley, 1 of them Grade I.
Saltaire Mills - the Entrance Block: Photo: Lynne Glazzard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Including Wall and Piers to Saltaire Road: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · The Old Bank: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Shipley Conservative Club: Photo: Bill Henderson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
36 notable people were born in Shipley.
Tony Richardson: Reginald Gray, CC0 · Brian Stableford: Lionel Allorge, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gordon Thomas: Davecrosby uk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simon Ainge: Joe Brown, Public domain · Steven Hartley: BisouPatrick, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipley | 29,228 | — | C+ | A− | D− | D |
| Baildon | 17,056 | 1.1 | B− | B− | C− | B− |
| Bingley | 21,334 | 2.4 | B+ | B+ | C− | C+ |
| Bradford | 333,968 | 2.7 | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Wilsden | 3,749 | 3.5 | B | B | B− | B− |
| Calverley | 3,988 | 3.6 | B+ | C− | C+ | A− |
| Guiseley | 12,462 | 3.8 | A− | C− | C | A |
| Harden | 1,602 | 3.9 | — | B− | B+ | B |
Harden has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 1.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Congregational Church (Including Salt Family Mausoleum to South). It also has 1 scheduled monument. Part of it is in the Saltaire World Heritage Site.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £190,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £103,500, terraced houses £190,000, semi-detached houses £197,000 and detached houses £350,000.
Large town in West Yorkshire, England
Shipley is a built-up area of 29,228 people, in the Bradford 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.