Crap Towns / West Yorkshire / Leeds
Leeds
89/100Crap Score
106th crappest of 984 towns, and 14th 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
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agree it's crap have defended it
Still no fucking tram.
A massive city that's been promising a tram since forever, while the libraries shut.
Leeds is massive and still hasn't got a tram after years of going on about it. Nice arcades, cracking market, and serious crashes at more than twice the typical town's rate. Everyone in football hates Leeds, and Loiners take it as a compliment.
They've shut 11 libraries, most of them in 2011. Halifax has shut 5 branches, Lloyds 4 and NatWest 4. There's been 106 serious pollution incidents in or near the place since 2016. Robbery runs at nearly five times the typical town's and burglary at nearly three. Still, it's not Manchester.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Leeds's 98 for serious road collisions means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Serious road collisions98/1005.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Deliberate fires92/10023.6 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Air pollution89/10013.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Criminal damage and arson88/10011.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping79/10015.6 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Leeds council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour70/10012.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain49/100127 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills48/100252 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Food hygiene34/1002.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 3,419 food businesses with a rating
- Broadband16/1003.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 4.0% across the Leeds council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Wakefield | 93 |
| 11 | Pontefract | 92 |
| 12 | South Elmsall | 91 |
| 13 | Cleckheaton | 90 |
| 14 | Leeds | 89 |
| 15 | Castleford | 88 |
| 16 | Baildon | 84 |
| 17 | Mirfield | 81 |
| 18 | Bingley | 80 |
Leeds by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 148 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 76.2
- 24 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 0.4 per 10,000 people, 88% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 106 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 286 pubs, 309 hairdressers, 68 charity shops, 49 bookmakers, 26 vape shops, 33 banks, 38 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 3.1% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (15 of 488) Better: 23% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 16 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 3.0 per 100,000 people, 12% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 11 libraries shut for good since 2010: Armley Heights (2011), Belle Isle (2011), Broad Lane (2011), Holbeck (2011), Ireland Wood (2011), Kirkstall (2011), Osmondthorpe (2011), Richmond Hill (2011), Swarcliffe (2011), Swinnow (2011) and Burley Library (2016)
- 67 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.2 per 10,000 people, 25% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 30 public swimming pools open; 9 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 14% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 12 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
- 1.5% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 3x the typical town's 0.5%
- 29.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,349 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 12% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Leeds council
Have a crap-off
Leeds 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.