Crap Towns / West Yorkshire / Halifax
Halifax
97/100Crap Score
Locals call it the Fax.
32nd crappest of 984 towns, and 5th 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 Halifax? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Follow the diversion.
A gorgeous Piece Hall in the middle of a town that's been dug up for years.
Halifax has the Piece Hall, which is magnificent, and a town round it that's been dug up for as long as anyone can remember. Diversions, closures, queues, and serious crashes at more than twice the typical town's rate. Lovely Piece Hall, though. Shame you can't get to it.
The Halifax shut its branch in Halifax. Barclays and NatWest went as well. 3 swimming pools have closed since 2010, which leaves 1, and the rain turns up on 158 days a year, so the Haligonians get wet either way. Crime sits at about twice the typical town's.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Halifax's 97 for serious road collisions means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Serious road collisions97/1005.1 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson93/10012.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires92/10023.2 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Food hygiene91/1005.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 594 food businesses with a rating
- Sewage spills89/1001,387 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain81/100158 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Anti-social behaviour81/10014.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband60/1008.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 12.1% across the Calderdale council area
- Air pollution53/1008.8 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.6 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Fly-tipping20/1006.3 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Calderdale council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
| 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 |
Halifax by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 151 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 2x the typical town's 76.2
- 33 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 3.7 per 10,000 people, 9% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 10 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 66 pubs, 21 hairdressers, 15 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 11 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 8.7% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (10 of 115) Worse: 2.2x the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 About the same: 3.4 per 100,000 people, about the same as the typical town's 3.4
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Southowram (2021)
- 14 public toilets on the map (October 2026) About the same: 1.6 per 10,000 people, about the same as the typical town's 1.6
- 1 public swimming pool open; 3 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.1 per 10,000 people, 86% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 5 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.31am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.4x the typical town's 0.5%
- 23.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 50% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,329 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 13% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Calderdale council
- £2,420 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £28 more than the English average
- 23% of Calderdale council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 44% higher than England's 16%
- 8 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Halifax 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.