Crap Towns / West Yorkshire / Wakefield
Wakefield
93/100Crap Score
67th crappest of 984 towns, and 10th 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
Where are my mates? Still in Spoons.
Wakefield has a rhubarb festival and calls itself the Merrie City. The Ridings is full of empty shops.
Wakefield calls itself the Merrie City and has a rhubarb festival. It also has a shopping centre full of empty units, an old market hall that's gone, and a Spoons so big you lose your mates in it. They call it Shakey Wakey. You can see why.
Crime runs at nearly twice the typical town's rate, public order offences at more than twice, and serious crashes at nearly twice. There's 95 pubs, which might explain the public order. 4 swimming pools have shut since 2010. Wakey slags off Castleford, and Wakey's crapper. Nobody tell them.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Wakefield's 94 for serious road collisions means it's crapper than 94% of towns.
- Serious road collisions94/1004.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson84/10010.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour79/10014.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Air pollution79/10011.3 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Food hygiene78/1003.8% rated 0 to 2, of the 733 food businesses with a rating
- Fly-tipping75/10016.7 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Wakefield council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires61/1007.2 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Sewage spills59/100394 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain24/100119 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Broadband23/1004.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 4.7% across the Wakefield council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Heckmondwike | 95 |
| 7 | Huddersfield | 95 |
| 8 | Elland | 94 |
| 9 | Batley | 94 |
| 10 | Wakefield | 93 |
| 11 | Pontefract | 92 |
| 12 | South Elmsall | 91 |
| 13 | Cleckheaton | 90 |
| 14 | Leeds | 89 |
Wakefield by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 144 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 76.2
- 41 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 4.2 per 10,000 people, 24% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 7 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 95 pubs, 84 hairdressers, 16 charity shops, 14 bookmakers, 9 vape shops, 10 banks, 7 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 3.4% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (4 of 119) Better: 15% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Better: 1.0 per 100,000 people, 71% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Kettlethorpe
- 12 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.2 per 10,000 people, 25% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 9 public swimming pools open; 4 closed for good since 2010 Better: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 29% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
- 2 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.17am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.6% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 3.2x the typical town's 0.5%
- 20.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 30% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,419 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 7% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Wakefield council
- £2,297 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £95 less than the English average
- 19% of Wakefield council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 19% higher than England's 16%
- 5 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Wakefield 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.