City

Wakefield area guide

Who lives in Wakefield, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Wakefield
Region: Yorkshire and The Humber
Population: 104,684 (2024)

WakefieldCity

At a glance

What Wakefield is like

Wakefield is a city in the Yorkshire and The Humber. It is home to about 104,684 people across 41,855 households. 58% of households own their home, 17.4% rent privately and 23.6% are in social housing. The largest age group is 30–34, and 56.1% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for England. Higher-harm crime is well above the England and Wales average.

Scores

How Wakefield compares

Headline figures for Wakefield, set against England as a whole.

AffluenceMore

4.5/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in England) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

8/ 10

Higher than most: 49.5 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year vs 31.1 nationally.

TransportMore

7.0/ 10

Very good: 2 stations within a mile, 73 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

91%

Rated good or better across 33 inspected schools in Wakefield.

Household incomeMore

£46,463

Average annual income before tax, higher than 31% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Wakefield differs most from the national average.

01
Higher crime than mostLook closer
49.5 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year, against 31.1 across England and Wales.
02
Well connectedPositive
2 stations within a mile and 73 bus stops within a ten-minute walk.
03
Well-rated schoolsPositive
91% of the inspected schools nearby are rated good or better.

Questions

Wakefield FAQs

Is Wakefield a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 4.5 out of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 10 is the least deprived in England. Higher-harm crime runs at 49.5 per 1,000 people a year, band 8 of 10 nationally. 91% of the inspected schools nearby are rated good or better. Transport connectivity scores 7.0 out of 10 (very good).

Is Wakefield safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Higher-harm crime (violence, robbery, burglary, vehicle crime and weapons offences) runs at 49.5 offences per 1,000 people a year around Wakefield, well above the 31.1 average across England and Wales, band 8 of 10.

Who lives in Wakefield?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 30–34, at 7.5% of residents. 58% of households own their home. The most common property type is semi-detached (41.6%).

How well connected is Wakefield?

Connectivity scores 7.0 out of 10.

There are 73 bus stops within 800m and 2 stations and tram stops within a mile, scoring 7.0 out of 10 (very good). The nearest station is Wakefield Westgate Rail Station, 0.1 miles away.

Sources: Census 2021 (ONS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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