Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 4,483 people, this town lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Safety is its weak spot (D−): 61 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 25.7 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 98%. With a C+ overall, Sowerby Bridge sits #67 of 91 in West Yorkshire. That leaves it better than 37% of UK towns. Cost of living is its strong suit: a typical home costs £175,000 and rent runs £756 a month. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A): nearly a quarter of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. It also trails on jobs & income (D): households earn a mean £45,359 a year, and 4.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
The 3 things Sowerby Bridge 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 Sowerby Bridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 60 buildings inside Sowerby Bridge’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.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sowerby Bridge. Best known first.
MuseumShibden Hall4.2 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumCalderdale Industrial Museum2.9 km outside town, to the east
MuseumEureka! The National Children's Museum2.9 km outside town, to the east
MuseumBankfield Museum3.3 km outside town, to the northeastCastleCastleSowerby Castle100 m outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumWarley Museum1.1 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sowerby Bridge.
Reported offences in Sowerby Bridge came to 526 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 145. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 27.7 reports per 1,000, higher than both West Yorkshire’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences made up 45% of the total.
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 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Attainment 8 at the 4 secondary schools within 3 km averages 50.7, and 57% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 3 primary schools: 56% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Road Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 182 | C |
| Ryburn Valley High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,589 | A− |
Private renters make up 17% of households, below West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. 54% of households are owner-occupiers. The £175,000 median rests on 178 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £349,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £200,000 | 72 |
| Terraced | £152,250 | 76 |
| Flat or maisonette | £107,000 | 13 |
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 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.6. About 10% of its commuters stay in Sowerby Bridge for work.
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 21% of the total, about level with West Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and above England’s towns (16%). Sowerby Bridge’s listed buildings include the Church of St Peter, Grade I. It counts 60 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
One GP practice serves the town; just over three in five patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Just over a fifth of residents in Sowerby Bridge live with a disability. At the census, 78% of people in Sowerby Bridge called their health good or very good, below West Yorkshire’s towns (81%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. Women here live to 82.4 on average and men to 79.2 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Sowerby Bridge | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.5% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
Children under 15 make up 19%, close to West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town. The median resident of Sowerby Bridge is 41.7 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Sowerby Bridge | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
60 listed buildings in Sowerby Bridge, 1 of them Grade I.
Field House: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 52 and 54, Town Gate: Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0 · Railway Bridge with Wall to West and Coal Drops to East: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cemetery Chapel: Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0
4 notable people were born in Sowerby Bridge.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sowerby Bridge | 4,483 | — | C+ | A | D− | C− |
| Luddenden Foot | 2,148 | 1.5 | — | A | D | C+ |
| Halifax | 88,111 | 2.2 | C+ | A | D− | D |
| Ripponden | 4,775 | 2.6 | A+ | B+ | B | A |
| Holywell Green and Stainland | 2,799 | 3 | B+ | A− | C | C |
| Mytholmroyd | 3,852 | 3 | B− | A− | C− | C+ |
| Elland | 15,788 | 3.7 | B | A | D | C− |
| Outlane | 1,172 | 3.9 | — | A− | B− | B− |
Luddenden Foot and Outlane have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £175,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £107,000, terraced houses £152,250, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £349,000.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Sowerby Bridge is a built-up area of 4,483 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.