Photo: Tim Green from Bradford · CC BY 2.0Life expectancy in Wakefield trails the figure across England: 75.9 for men and 81.3 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Inside the town, men’s life expectancy runs from 72.8 in Wakefield Central to 80.1 in Sandal, 2.5 miles apart. Wakefield grades D for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #73 of 91 in West Yorkshire.
What stands out about health in Wakefield
A 7-year gap from one part of Wakefield to another
Men in Sandal can expect to live to 80.1, longer than the English average of 79.1. In Wakefield Central, 2.5 miles away, the figure is 72.8, and Lupset records 176 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 78.5 in Lupset to 86.9 in Sandal. Neighbourhoods ↓
Men live shorter lives than Wakefield’s level of deprivation would suggest
27% of Wakefield’s residents are income-deprived. Across England’s towns that predicts men’s life expectancy of 78.0; Wakefield’s is 75.9. For its circumstances ↓
Written from the OHID, NHS England and GP Patient Survey figures on this page. Life expectancy covers 2019 to 2023; neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people.
Wakefield grades D for health
Healthier than 15% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, child obesity and disability, are in the bottom 40% of UK towns; preventable deaths and deaths under 75 are furthest behind. Among the 81 UK towns of 69,000 to 132,000 people, Wakefield’s Health Grade is the 47th highest.
Each measure is ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, the ranks are averaged, and the average is ranked again. Every measure allows for the town’s ages: life expectancy is worked out from the death rate at each age, so it doesn’t depend on how old the town’s residents are; deaths and admissions are counted against what England’s rates would give a town with these ages, and the Census answers against England and Wales’s rates by single year of age, so a seaside town of retired people isn’t marked down for being old.
Men’s life expectancy across Wakefield runs from 72.8 to 80.1
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Wakefield’s 13 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation closely: Lupset, where 46% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 73.2. Lupset has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (176 per 100 expected), against 65 in Sandal.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandal | 80.1 | 86.9 | 65 | 73 | 10% | 4.5% |
| Outwood East | 79.1 | 85.7 | 87 | 92 | 15% | 11% |
| Thornes | 78.7 | 83.2 | 105 | 102 | 24% | 20% |
| Stanley, Moorhouse & Bottomboat | 78.4 | 83.9 | 99 | 96 | 20% | 14% |
| Outwood West | 78.0 | 79.8 | 114 | 117 | 21% | 16% |
| Wrenthorpe & Kirkhamgate | 77.9 | 81.4 | 109 | 96 | 15% | 13% |
| Kettlethorpe & Chapelthorpe | 77.7 | 80.1 | 127 | 114 | 24% | 34% |
| Wakefield St John's | 75.5 | 84.7 | 140 | 107 | 25% | 25% |
| Alverthorpe & Flanshaw | 74.2 | 79.0 | 154 | 118 | 22% | 31% |
| Agbrigg & Belle Isle | 73.7 | 80.3 | 170 | 121 | 25% | 39% |
| Eastmoor | 73.5 | 79.6 | 164 | 140 | 22% | 44% |
| Lupset | 73.2 | 78.5 | 176 | 130 | 27% | 46% |
| Wakefield Central | 72.8 | 78.8 | 171 | 143 | 21% | 33% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Wakefield Central’s men’s life expectancy is 72.8 with a 95% range of 70.9 to 74.7. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Wakefield; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Men’s life expectancy in Wakefield is 2.1 years below what its level of deprivation predicts
Across 1,996 English towns of 2,500 or more, men’s life expectancy tracks income deprivation closely (correlation −0.81). Each dot is a town.
27% of Wakefield’s residents are income-deprived, more than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 78.0 years for men; Wakefield’s is 75.9. For women it predicts 82.1, and Wakefield’s 81.3 is 0.8 years below.
Income deprivation: share of residents in low-income households, English Indices of Deprivation 2025, averaged over each town’s neighbourhoods. A town above or below the line isn’t necessarily doing better or worse on care: students, prisons and hostels inside a boundary all shift the figures.
Care in and near Wakefield
The nearest A&E, the practice patients rate highest, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
Mid Yorkshire Teaching saw 62% of major-A&E patients within four hours
Type 1 (major) A&E attendances seen, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival, by month. NHS England publishes it by trust, not hospital: Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust runs the A&E at Pinderfields Hospital, the nearest to Wakefield (0.9 mi).
The share seen within four hours has held near 62% over 18 months. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 56% of trusts: 4,558 patients in 12 months, 11% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Pinderfields Hospital: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2024), the hospital overall requires improvement (2024).
North East and Yorkshire trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 mi | Pinderfields Hospital A&E Wakefield · Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust | Requires improvement2024 | Requires improvement2024 |
| 6.1 mi | Dewsbury and District Hospital A&E Dewsbury · Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust | Requires improvement2024 | Requires improvement2024 |
| 8.1 mi | Pontefract Hospital Pontefract · Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust | Requires improvement2022 | — |
| 8.3 mi | Leeds General Infirmary A&E Leeds · Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Good2019 |
| 8.5 mi | St James's University Hospital A&E Leeds · Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Requires improvement2019 |
| 8.6 mi | Seacroft Hospital Leeds · Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 8.7 mi | Barnsley Hospital A&E Barnsley · Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Good2023 | Good2018 |
| 9.6 mi | Chapel Allerton Hospital Leeds · Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | Good2019 | — |
NHS acute hospitals registered with the Care Quality Commission (care directory, 01 October 2026). “A&E” marks a major (type 1) emergency department, open 24 hours and led by consultants, in NHS England’s Emergency Care Data Set; a hospital without the mark may still have a minor injury unit or urgent treatment centre. Ratings run Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate; the year is when each was published. Distances are straight lines from the town centre.
75% of patients rate Wakefield’s 11 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 39th of 76 English towns of 69,000 to 132,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outwood Park Medical Centre WF1 2PE · 11,858 adult patients | 90% good · range 75%–96% | 80% | 66% | Good2016 |
| Warrengate Medical Centre WF1 4PR · 9,202 adult patients | 86% good · range 75%–93% | 80% | 86% | Good2016 |
| Chapelthorpe Medical Centre WF2 7GP · 11,297 adult patients | 80% good · range 61%–91% | 29% | 63% | Good2025 |
| Lupset Health Centre WF2 8FE · 10,665 adult patients | 77% good · range 61%–88% | 33% | 76% | Good2024 |
| Homestead Medical Centre WF2 9PE · 6,807 adult patients | 77% good · range 65%–86% | 72% | 84% | Good2016 |
| New Southgate Surgery WF1 3JQ · 11,384 adult patients | 75% good · range 61%–85% | 46% | 70% | Good2016 |
| Maybush Medical Centre Limited WF1 5PN · 7,740 adult patients | 75% good · range 64%–83% | 63% | 81% | Good2018 |
| Eastmoor Health Centre WF1 4SD · 2,151 adult patients | 74% good · range 71%–76% | 74% | 88% | Good2021 |
| Trinity Medical Centre WF1 1PG · 22,750 adult patients | 65% good · range 30%–89% | 56% | 58% | Good2025 |
| Stanley Health Centre WF3 4HS · 5,983 adult patients | 65% good · range 54%–74% | 59% | 76% | Good2016 |
| Alverthorpe Surgery WF2 0DP · 1,993 adult patients | 64% good · range 61%–66% | 67% | 69% | Good2016 |
Outwood Park Medical Centre has the town’s highest rating (90%). Trinity Medical Centre is by far the largest, with 22,750 adult patients. You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
GP Patient Survey 2026: surveys sent January to March 2026; results weighted by NHS England. The range is the 95% confidence interval. Adult patients: the survey’s practice population aged 16 and over. A practice counts as in Wakefield when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
81% of adults in the West Yorkshire area who tried got an NHS dental appointment
Adults who tried to get an NHS dental appointment for themselves in the last two years, and got one. GP Patient Survey 2026, by integrated care system (the NHS area that plans dentistry for Wakefield).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of West Yorkshire patients who did, 73% rated the experience good (England 74%). NHS practices taking new patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist; for urgent dental pain, call NHS 111.
The survey asks GP patients about dentistry, so results are published for health areas, not towns or practices.
81% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 117 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Wakefield | West Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Fair health | 14% | 13% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 8.2% | 7.8% | 7.4% |
West Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Wakefield’s Health Grade is 47th of 81 UK towns of 69,000 to 132,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Wakefield, and others in West Yorkshire. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Albans Hertfordshire | 75,544 | 80.7 / 84.6 | 79 | A− |
| 2 | Guildford Surrey | 77,870 | 81.4 / 85.5 | 78 | B+ |
| 3 | Woking Surrey | 75,655 | 80.6 / 84.2 | 87 | B |
| … | |||||
| 45 | Darlington County Durham | 93,022 | 77.3 / 81.4 | 131 | C− |
| 46 | Burton upon Trent Staffordshire | 76,264 | 77.0 / 81.1 | 129 | D |
| 47 | Wakefield West Yorkshire | 97,871 | 75.9 / 81.3 | 135 | D |
| 48 | Carlisle Cumbria | 77,729 | 76.2 / 81.1 | 131 | D |
| 49 | Stockport Greater Manchester | 117,925 | 77.1 / 81.6 | 127 | D |
| … | |||||
| 61 | Halifax West Yorkshire | 88,111 | 76.3 / 81.1 | 132 | D |
| … | |||||
| 81 | Oldham Greater Manchester | 110,722 | 74.0 / 78.2 | 166 | D− |
Health letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only. Welsh towns are graded on life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and the two Census measures: OHID’s early-death, admissions and child-obesity figures cover England.
Health in the places around Wakefield
Life expectancy for men / women, and the nearest A&E. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Life expectancy | Nearest A&E | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 97,871 | 75.9 / 81.3 | 0.9 mi | D |
| Horbury | 9,868 | 78.3 / 83.1 | 3.5 mi | C |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 81.5 / 81.9 | 3.7 mi | B− |
| Ossett | 21,854 | 78.3 / 82.9 | 3.5 mi | C |
| Walton | 3,266 | 81.4 / 85.1 | 3.1 mi | B |
| Bottom Boat | 1,191 | 78.4 / 83.9 | 2.3 mi | C |
| Thorpe on the Hill | 1,232 | 78.2 / 80.5 | 3.2 mi | C |
| Lofthouse and Robin Hood | 4,187 | 78.1 / 80.6 | 3 mi | C |
Crigglestone and Durkar, 2.9 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 81.5, 5.6 years longer than Wakefield’s.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A&E figures are for the trust. NHS England publishes four-hour waits by trust, not hospital, so Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust’s figures cover every major A&E it runs. They count type 1 (major) departments; minor injury units and urgent treatment centres are left out, which is why they sit below the all-types figure NHS England headlines (75% for England).
- The GP survey is a survey. About 100 patients answer for each practice, so a practice’s figure has a range (shown in the table); small differences between practices aren’t meaningful. The town figure weights each practice by its adult patients, some of whom live outside Wakefield.
- Adjusted for age. A ratio of 100 means as many deaths, admissions or reports of bad health as England’s rates (England and Wales’s for the Census) would give a town with these ages; 120 means a fifth more.
- Small areas, summed to the town. OHID publishes these figures for middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people; the town’s figure averages the areas it covers, weighted by how many of their residents live in it, so a village shares its area’s figure with the countryside around it.
- Different years. Life expectancy and deaths cover 2019 to 2023; emergency admissions 2016/17 to 2020/21 (the latest OHID publishes for small areas, including the pandemic dip); child obesity the three school years to 2024/25; A&E the 12 months to September 2026; the GP Patient Survey early 2026; CQC ratings were published on different dates, shown in each row.
- Distances are straight lines. Miles are measured from the town’s centre to each site; the road is longer. For an emergency, call 999; for urgent advice, call NHS 111.
Questions about health in Wakefield
How healthy is Wakefield?
Wakefield earns a D for health, healthier than 15% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 47th of 81 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 75.9 for men and 81.3 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 135 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Wakefield have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Sandal (80.1), Outwood East (79.1) and Thornes (78.7); the shortest is Wakefield Central (72.8). For women, Sandal is highest (86.9) and Lupset lowest (78.5). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at Pinderfields Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 62% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 59%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Wakefield?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 81% of adults in the West Yorkshire area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years got one, against 82% across England. Practices taking new NHS patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist service.
Which GP practice in Wakefield do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Outwood Park Medical Centre (90% good overall), Warrengate Medical Centre (86% good overall) and Chapelthorpe Medical Centre (80% good overall). Across all 11 Wakefield practices, 75% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Wakefield?
75.9 years for men and 81.3 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 61.3 of those years and women 63.7 in good health.
CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
Sources: OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (life expectancy and deaths 2019–23, emergency admissions 2016/17–2020/21, NCMP 2022/23–2024/25); House of Commons Library MSOA names · ONS health state life expectancy for small areas (MSOAs), England and Wales, 2019 to 2023 (healthy life expectancy) · ONS Census 2021 general health and disability, adjusted for age · Care Quality Commission care directory and latest ratings, 01 October 2026 · NHS Organisation Data Service · GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos) · NHS England, A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions (monthly, by trust) and Emergency Care Data Set activity by site, June–September 2026 (type 1 A&Es) · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 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.