Crap Towns / West Yorkshire / Bradford
Bradford
99/100Crap Score
Locals call it Bratfud.
9th crappest of 984 towns, and 2nd in West Yorkshire. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
Got something to say about Bradford? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Red means stop, lads.
Fly-tipping, vandalism, dodgy kitchens and drivers who treat red lights as a suggestion.
Bradford got rich on wool and has the big buildings to prove it, and 17 places here are on the Heritage at Risk register. The city centre's empty shops, the new market hasn't won anyone over, and the loop sends you round twice. The drivers go through red lights like they're not there, and people get killed or badly hurt on the roads at more than twice the typical town's rate.
There's been 51 serious pollution incidents in or near Bradford since 2016. Bins and rubbish go up in flames at about fifteen times the typical town's rate, and they've shut 3 libraries. There's barely a charity shop left. Even they gave up. At least they still hate Leeds.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Bradford's 98 for serious road collisions means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Serious road collisions98/1005.6 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Deliberate fires97/10038.4 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson93/10012.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping93/10032.7 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bradford council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene90/1005.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 2,190 food businesses with a rating
- Air pollution86/10013.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Anti-social behaviour77/10013.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain72/100148 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills48/100257 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband17/1003.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 4.5% across the Bradford council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keighley | 99 |
| 2 | Bradford | 99 |
| 3 | Dewsbury | 98 |
| 4 | Shipley | 97 |
| 5 | Halifax | 97 |
| 6 | Heckmondwike | 95 |
| 7 | Huddersfield | 95 |
| 8 | Elland | 94 |
| 9 | Batley | 94 |
Bradford by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 145 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 76.2
- 51 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 56% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 51 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 128 pubs, 41 hairdressers, 9 charity shops, 10 bookmakers, 5 vape shops, 14 banks, 8 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 6.5% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (27 of 417) Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 0.6 per 100,000 people, 82% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 3 libraries shut for good since 2010: Heaton Library (2011), Girlington Library (2015) and St. Augustine's Library
- 21 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 63% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 14 public swimming pools open; 7 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.4 per 10,000 people, 43% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 17 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- All night buses on a Wednesday Better: The typical town's last bus goes at 12.14am
- 1.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.4x the typical town's 0.5%
- 23.3% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.5x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,323 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 14% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Bradford council
- £2,361 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £31 less than the English average
- 13% of Bradford council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 19% lower than England's 16%
- 27 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Bradford against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.