Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 3,077 people, lies in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Crime is the sore point: 33.3 violent and sexual offences and 12.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only nearly a quarter of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people have more crime per resident. It takes 4.4 years of household income in the Leeds council area to buy the median home, at £220,000. Natural hazards are few (A). Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, ranking #53 of 91 in West Yorkshire. That leaves it better than 45% of UK towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools, C+ for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
The 3 things Swillington 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 Swillington is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 5 buildings inside Swillington’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
1% 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 Swillington.
The age that splits Swillington in two is 49.2. Children under 15 make up 14%, below both West Yorkshire’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (18%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up nearly one in ten residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Swillington | West Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Secondary results at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 51.2, with 61% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Below is its only school. At the 13 primary schools within 3 km, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swillington Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 210 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list names 5 listed buildings in Swillington: 1 Grade II*. This West Yorkshire town has 16 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Violence and sexual offences were 56% of the crimes. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 209 offences in Swillington and 18 cases of nuisance behaviour. Also worth knowing: among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Swillington has more crime per resident than 77% of them.
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.
8% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above West Yorkshire’s towns (5.7%) and England’s towns (5.2%) alike. Disability touches just over a fifth of Swillington’s population. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Swillington | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
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.
The car took 81% of commuters, above West Yorkshire’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%) alike. In 2026, 2.7% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. About 7% of its commuters stay in Swillington for work. Income per household averages £49K a year, before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
23% live in social housing, above West Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Owners make up 69% of households. The median sale, £220,000, comes from 116 standard sales inside Swillington’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £295,000 | 18 |
| Semi-detached | £220,750 | 72 |
| Terraced | £185,000 | 23 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Swillington. Best known first.
MuseumTemple Newsam House2.5 km outside town, to the northwest
Historic houseOulton Hall3 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleRothwell Castle Ruins4 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionBE1150 Dragline1.4 km outside town, to the southeastTheme parkTheme parkGo Ape - Treetop Adventure2.4 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionAmphitheatre2.5 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Swillington.
James Lowther: Leslie Ward, Public domain · John Dobson: The Diocese of York, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swillington | 3,077 | — | B− | C+ | C | C |
| Kippax | 10,299 | 2 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C |
| Mickletown | 3,362 | 2.1 | B− | C+ | B− | C− |
| Allerton Bywater | 6,958 | 2.2 | C+ | B− | C− | C |
| Garforth | 15,148 | 2.3 | A− | C | B− | B |
| Rothwell | 20,964 | 2.4 | C | C+ | C− | C |
| Methley | 1,196 | 2.8 | — | B− | B | C− |
| Bottom Boat | 1,191 | 3.7 | — | A− | C− | C |
Methley and Bottom Boat have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £220,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £185,000, semi-detached houses £220,750 and detached houses £295,000.
Town in West Yorkshire, England
Swillington is a built-up area of 3,077 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.