County ranking
Best places to live in West Yorkshire
30 towns ranked by overall liveability score, from official UK data.
This ranking covers the 83 West Yorkshire towns above 3,000 people that we can score in at least 8 of 9 categories, with the best 30 listed. Calverley takes first place with 71/100, putting four points between it and Ilkley on 67. Eight towns clear 65/100, a mark roughly one in eight UK towns this size reaches: Calverley (71), Ilkley (67) and Shipley (Bradford) (67), among others.
Median score across the 83 towns we rank here is 58/100, 4 points above the 54/100 that UK towns this size typically manage. On price, Batley is the top five's cheapest at a median of £177,750. Ilkley, also in the top five, runs to £396,500. The steepest fall in the ranking comes after first place, where Calverley on 71 gives way to Ilkley on 67. Full breakdowns for the leaders: Calverley, Ilkley and Shipley (Bradford).
| # | Town | Score | Strongest categories | Population | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calverley | 71 | Transport 71 Schools 68 | 3,140 | £334,750 |
| 2 | Ilkley | 67 | Healthcare 64 Lifestyle 64 | 14,502 | £396,500 |
| 3 | Shipley (Bradford) | 67 | Transport 92 Healthcare 78 | 28,977 | £195,500 |
| 4 | Batley | 66 | Healthcare 81 Transport 83 | 44,366 | £177,750 |
| 5 | Leeds | 66 | Healthcare 84 Transport 86 | 517,838 | £230,000 |
| 6 | Rawdon | 66 | Transport 65 Broadband 98 | 7,619 | £340,000 |
| 7 | Netherton (Kirklees) | 65 | Transport 77 Healthcare 56 | 3,099 | £235,000 |
| 8 | Pudsey | 65 | Healthcare 78 Transport 81 | 35,060 | £230,000 |
| 9 | Bradford | 64 | Healthcare 87 Transport 90 | 331,163 | £160,000 |
| 10 | Garforth | 64 | Transport 66 Healthcare 55 | 15,107 | £282,500 |
| 11 | Heckmondwike | 64 | Healthcare 83 Transport 82 | 13,625 | £180,000 |
| 12 | Huddersfield | 64 | Transport 88 Healthcare 82 | 142,266 | £180,000 |
| 13 | Kippax | 63 | Healthcare 58 Broadband 99 | 10,052 | £235,000 |
| 14 | Holywell Green and Stainland | 62 | Transport 67 Broadband 99 | 3,247 | £210,000 |
| 15 | Honley | 62 | Transport 67 Healthcare 54 | 11,942 | £260,000 |
| 16 | Horbury | 62 | Transport 68 Schools 62 | 9,574 | £210,000 |
| 17 | Kirkburton | 62 | Broadband 97 Transport 56 | 3,830 | £235,000 |
| 18 | Liversedge | 62 | Transport 77 Healthcare 73 | 16,761 | £205,000 |
| 19 | Mickletown | 62 | Broadband 99 Healthcare 54 | 3,468 | £278,750 |
| 20 | Ossett | 62 | Transport 77 Lifestyle 63 | 21,305 | £225,000 |
| 21 | Otley (Leeds) | 62 | Lifestyle 67 Healthcare 59 | 13,761 | £287,500 |
| 22 | Baildon | 61 | Transport 81 Healthcare 61 | 16,695 | £279,950 |
| 23 | Burley in Wharfedale | 61 | Transport 51 Healthcare 42 | 5,735 | £387,500 |
| 24 | Halifax | 61 | Transport 94 Schools 72 | 86,562 | £155,000 |
| 25 | Wakefield | 61 | Transport 80 Healthcare 75 | 96,878 | £230,000 |
| 26 | Bingley | 60 | Transport 64 Healthcare 60 | 22,274 | £225,000 |
| 27 | Dewsbury | 60 | Healthcare 79 Transport 79 | 61,532 | £177,500 |
| 28 | Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 60 | Transport 73 Healthcare 54 | 14,655 | £226,500 |
| 29 | Guiseley | 60 | Transport 62 Lifestyle 60 | 12,192 | £300,000 |
| 30 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite | 60 | Transport 70 Healthcare 55 | 9,394 | £230,000 |
Ranked on the default weighting, out of 100. Strongest categories are the two furthest above the national median for that category, not simply the two highest numbers. Almost every town scores well on safety, so raw highs would say little.
Find your own best place in West Yorkshire
The ranking above uses one weighting. Change any control below to re-rank all 83 qualifying towns around what you actually care about — who's moving, a minimum on one category, a price ceiling for the type of home you'd buy.
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Shelf and NorthowramYeadonDrighlingtonGildersomeHolmfirthLeptonCleckheatonCrigglestone and DurkarCroftonEast ArdsleyEllandPontefractSkelmanthorpeAllerton BywaterClayton West and ScissettMelthamNormanton (Wakefield)QueensburyScholes (near Cleckheaton)Sowerby BridgeWilsdenCastlefordKeighleyRippondenRothwell (Leeds)WetherbyFeatherstone (Wakefield)South ElmsallSwillingtonOakworthSouth KirkbyHavercroft and RyhillHaworthHebden BridgeMarsdenSteetonSilsdenHolmfieldHemsworthMytholmroydTodmordenKnottingleyThornton (Bradford)Upton (Wakefield)Fitzwilliam and KinsleyHow this ranking was built
Every settlement in West Yorkshire was scored across 9 categories (safety, schools, healthcare, transport, environment, broadband, lifestyle, economic health and bills) from official sources including Police UK, Ofsted, the CQC, Ofcom, the Environment Agency and MHCLG. Two filters then decide who appears here:
- Population above 3,000. Without a floor the list fills with hamlets of a few dozen people. West Yorkshire has 83 towns above it.
- Real data in at least 8 of 9 categories. Places we can only partly measure are excluded rather than ranked on guesswork.
Counties are ceremonial, and a town belongs to the county its postcodes physically sit in, so border towns land where residents would expect them to.
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