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Wakefield

Interactive map displaying Wakefield

About

Wakefield district sits in the heart of Yorkshire and The Humber and includes Wakefield city plus towns such as Pontefract, Castleford, Normanton, Knottingley, Ossett, Featherstone and Horbury. The River Calder and the Aire and Calder Navigation cross the district, linking historic mills and modern waterfronts. Coal mining shaped much of the area; the National Coal Mining Museum at Overton preserves that industrial past. In Pontefract, a long history of licorice production led to the locally made Pontefract cakes and the remains of Pontefract Castle stand near the town centre as a reminder of medieval power struggles.

Transport links include mainline rail stations at Wakefield Westgate and Kirkgate, and several stops on local branches serving the towns. Cultural sites include Wakefield Cathedral and The Hepworth Wakefield gallery on the Calder waterfront. Inland villages and former colliery sites have been adapted for housing, parks and business parks, so the district combines working infrastructure with traces of earlier industries and riverside routes used for leisure and commerce.

Area overview

On average Wakefield has high deprivation and very high crime levels, with around 105 crimes per 1,000 residents per year, in line with the Yorkshire and The Humber average of 113 per 1,000. Approximately 19.1% of homes in this area are social housing provided by a local council or housing association. The average income per household in Wakefield is £45,417 per year. There are 131 schools in Wakefield: 113 primary (10 Outstanding and 88 Good) and 18 secondary (4 Outstanding and 11 Good). Wakefield is home to around 353,370 people, with a population density of about 1,043.6 per km².

Crime rate
9/10
Crimes per 1k residents
105
Deprivation level
7/10
Income level
5/10
Social housing
19.1%
Connectivity
N/A

Area Profile

Wakefield Population
353,370
Population density
1,043.6 per km²

Crime

Crime per 1,000 population

Violence and sexual offences
55.49(+26%)
Anti-social behaviour
12.84(-10%)
Public order
10.37(+17%)
Shoplifting
8.7(-1%)
Criminal damage and arson
8.52(-1%)
Yorkshire and The Humber average

Demographics

Ethnic groups

British
311,634
88.19%
Other White
15,637
4.43%
Pakistani
7,107
2.01%
African
3,589
1.02%
Indian
2,291
0.65%
Total population: 353,370

Economics

Education (age 16+)

No qualifications
70,233
24.43%
Level 4+ (Degree)
69,797
24.27%
Level 3 (A level)
46,794
16.27%
Level 2 (GCSEs 9-4)
42,945
14.94%
Level 1 (GCSEs 3-1)
31,086
10.81%
Total 16+ residents: 287,539

Housing

Housing tenure

Owns outright
48,566
31.73%
Owns with a mortgage
47,260
30.87%
Social rents from council
22,323
14.58%
Private landlord or letting agency
19,969
13.05%
Other social rented
10,865
7.1%
Total households: 153,075

Property prices in Wakefield

Median price£205,000
Price per sq ft£230
Sales (last 12 months)3,949
Typical range (middle 50%)£155K – £270K

Based on 3,949 recent sales, the median property price is £205,000 (about £230 per square foot) in Wakefield area, with individual transactions ranging from £35,000 up to £2,000,000.

Prices by property typelast 12 months

Median sale price, median price per square foot, sales count, and percentile information for each property type in Wakefield over the last year.
TypeSalesMedian£/sq ft
Detached1,031£330,000£284
Semi-Detached1,638£202,500£232
Terraced1,083£155,000£185
Flats197£105,000£172

10-year price trendmedian sale price in Wakefield

Sale price

Ten year median sale price trend for each property type in Wakefield.
YearDetachedFlatsSemi-DetachedTerraced
2016£235,000£84,225£139,995£105,000
2017£237,250£85,000£137,500£108,000
2018£241,995£95,000£143,000£115,000
2019£249,950£84,725£150,000£117,500
2020£259,500£92,500£157,500£120,000
2021£284,950£96,500£173,995£133,000
2022£300,000£108,000£190,000£142,250
2023£315,000£109,000£190,000£140,500
2024£311,000£106,750£195,000£145,000
2025£325,000£109,000£200,000£155,000
2026£336,250£93,750£205,000£153,375
Ten year median sale price trend for each property type in Wakefield.

Price per sq ft

Ten year median sale price per square foot trend for each property type in Wakefield.
YearDetachedFlatsSemi-DetachedTerraced
2016£200£144£158£123
2017£204£141£159£129
2018£208£146£166£138
2019£212£141£173£137
2020£221£143£182£143
2021£239£153£194£158
2022£261£173£213£172
2023£269£182£216£171
2024£274£173£224£177
2025£282£176£229£184
2026£282£164£240£187
Ten year median sale price per square foot trend for each property type in Wakefield.

Price distribution by property typelast 12 months

Price distribution by property type for Wakefield in the last year.

Frequently asked questions about Wakefield

Is Wakefield safe?

Wakefield records about 105 crimes per 1,000 residents per year, which is a very high crime rate for England: it scores 9 out of 10 on the Area360 crime scale, where 10 is the highest crime level.

Which is the safest ward in Wakefield?

Among the 21 wards of Wakefield, Wakefield Rural has the lowest crime rate, with about 65 crimes per 1,000 residents per year (the Wakefield average is 105 per 1,000) based on official Police.uk data.

What is the average house price in Wakefield?

The median sale price in Wakefield is £205,000 (about £230 per square foot) based on 3,949 registered sales according to HM Land Registry data.

Are there good schools in Wakefield?

Wakefield has 113 primary schools (10 rated Outstanding, 88 Good) and 18 secondary schools (4 rated Outstanding, 11 Good). Ratings are from the latest Ofsted inspections.

How deprived is Wakefield?

Wakefield scores 7 out of 10 on the deprivation scale, where 10 is the most deprived. The typical neighbourhood in Wakefield sits around rank 12,547 of 32,844 in England on the official Index of Multiple Deprivation (rank 1 is the most deprived).

What is the average household income in Wakefield?

The average household income in Wakefield is around £45,417 per year, and 19% of homes are social housing (ONS data).

Who are the MPs for Wakefield?

Wakefield spans 4 parliamentary constituencies, represented by Normanton and Hemsworth: Jon Trickett (Labour Party), Ossett and Denby Dale: Jade Botterill (Labour Party), Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley: Yvette Cooper (Labour Party) and Wakefield and Rothwell: Simon Lightwood (Labour and Co-operative Party).

WF1 3RX

Long Causeway

WF9 2DU

Mill Lane

WF10 5PJ

Buttercup Way

WF6 1FL

Havard Way

WF2 0FU

Wren Green Avenue

WF10 1WY

Speedwell Road

WF10 4FR

Carr Lane

WF10 5QJ

Altofts Lane

WF2 0QN

Bradford Road

WF8 1AF

Market Place

WF8 1NG

Crab Hill

WF9 2DG

High Street

WF1 4DT

Pincheon Street

WF1 1AD

Almshouse Lane

WF6 1PY

Bacon Avenue

WF1 2DE

Newstead Road

WF2 7AR

Appleton Court

WF1 1HA

Bull Ring

WF2 9AG

Love Lane

WF1 3HT

Ouchthorpe Lane

WF7 5BE

Milton Gardens

WF5 9BG

Oldfield Close

WF1 2DN

Margaret Street

WF7 6HH

Ackton Hall Crescent

Data Sources

All data is sourced from official UK government agencies and public datasets. Last updated: 16/07/2026. Read more about how our statistics are calculated.