Is Castleford a good place to live?

Castleford has an overall liveability score of 72 out of 100 (very good) on TrackPostcode.UK, based on 100% of categories currently loaded. It scores best on broadband and housing. The score combines cost, affordability, safety, weather and more from open government data.

About 280 crimes were recorded within roughly a mile of Castleford in 2026-08 (police.uk), giving a safety score of 51 out of 100. Town and city centres naturally record more than residential streets.

Castleford averages 1,416 sunshine hours and about 936 mm of rain a year, giving an outdoor score of 64 out of 100. Summer highs average 20.2°C and winter lows 2.6°C. Based on the Met Office Bradford station, 29 km away.

Average private rent in the Wakefield area is about £797 a month (Jun-26, ONS), giving Castleford a cost-of-living score of 83 out of 100. Use the affordability calculator to estimate what you could comfortably afford here.

The average property price in Wakefield is about £198,519 (2026-06, HM Land Registry). Prices changed +4.8% over the year. See the affordability section for how that compares to local earnings.

Castleford scores 51 out of 100 for safety - fair - measured from recorded crime within about a mile of this point for the latest published month (police.uk). That puts it in the bottom 44% of every area in our index. A safety score is a comparison with other areas rather than a guarantee about a street. Town and city centres record more crime than residential suburbs largely because more people pass through them, so compare places of a similar type before drawing a conclusion.

The average property in Wakefield costs about £198,519, which is 5.1 times earnings against assumed full-time earnings of £39,039 a year (ONS ASHE), giving an affordability score of 88 out of 100. Mainstream lenders usually cap borrowing at around four to four and a half times income, so a ratio above that generally means a larger deposit, a second income or a cheaper property than the local average. With a ten per cent deposit, repaying the rest costs about £1,151 a month at 6% over 25 years, £354 more than the £797 average local rent. The affordability calculator on this page estimates it from your own salary and savings.

About 99.3% of premises in Wakefield can get superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, and 95.9% can get a gigabit-capable connection, giving a broadband score of 96 out of 100 (Ofcom Connected Nations). These are council-area availability figures - the share of premises able to order each service, not the speed any single line achieves - so check the exact address with the Ofcom broadband checker before committing to it.

75.4% of 16 to 64 year olds in Wakefield are in work (NOMIS latest, retrieved Sep 2026, ONS Annual Population Survey via NOMIS), giving an employment score of 55 out of 100. Unemployment stands at 4%. UK local authorities typically range from about 62% to 82%. This is a whole-authority figure, so it describes the local labour market rather than any one town within it.

Wakefield records 45.8 on Attainment 8 average score (202425), giving an education score of 37 out of 100. Each nation publishes its own attainment measure and they are not interchangeable, so education scores compare within England, Scotland or Wales and not across them. Attainment is published for the whole council or county rather than for a school catchment, so check individual schools with the inspectorate before deciding.

For the 1 km grid square containing Castleford, fine particulates (PM2.5) average 7.21 µg/m³ against a World Health Organization guideline of 5 and nitrogen dioxide averages 12.29 µg/m³ against a guideline of 10 (2024, Defra Pollution Climate Mapping, Crown copyright). That gives an environment score of 84 out of 100; an area meeting both guideline levels scores 100. These are modelled background concentrations for the square, not a reading taken at the roadside.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 656 mapped amenities, including 155 places to eat and drink, 380 shops, 88 parks and sports facilities and 6 cultural and community venues, giving a lifestyle score of 63 out of 100. Counts come from OpenStreetMap and are measured at this exact location rather than averaged across the council, so they reflect how well served this particular spot is. Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Within about two kilometres of this point there are 4 GP surgeries, 7 pharmacies and 2 dentists. 3 hospitals are within about eight kilometres. That gives a healthcare score of 53 out of 100. Facilities are counted from OpenStreetMap and the score describes how close services are, not waiting times, capacity or clinical quality.

The nearest railway station is Castleford Rail Station, about 0.2 km away, and there are 51 bus, tram or metro stops within an 800 metre walk, giving a transport score of 79 out of 100. Stops come from the DfT NaPTAN dataset and are counted for this exact point, so the figure measures access rather than how frequently anything runs.

Castleford is in the Wakefield local authority, Yorkshire and The Humber, England. It falls within the Castleford Central & Glasshoughton ward and the Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley parliamentary constituency. Cost of living, housing, affordability, employment, broadband and education figures in this report are published at local-authority level, so every postcode and town inside Wakefield shares them. Weather, crime, amenities, healthcare, transport and air quality are measured for this point instead.

Castleford scores 74 out of 100 on our remote workers profile, which is weighted towards broadband, cost of living, environment and weather. That is close to its general score of 72, so the weighting neither flatters nor penalises this area. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-remote-workers/.

Castleford scores 73 out of 100 on our students profile, which is weighted towards cost of living, lifestyle, transport and safety. That is close to its general score of 72, so the weighting neither flatters nor penalises this area. Every area we score is ranked on this basis at /best-places-for-students/.

Castleford sits in the top 16% of the 539 UK areas we have scored. The median area in the index scores 67 out of 100. It is furthest above the benchmark for its nation on affordability, cost of living and broadband. It is furthest below on weather. Categories are compared against the area's own nation where the samples allow it, because crime and school attainment are measured differently either side of the border.

Of the areas we have scored within about 50 miles of Castleford, the highest are Wakefield (73 out of 100, about 7 miles away), Pontefract (72 out of 100, about 3 miles away) and Dewsbury (70 out of 100, about 11 miles away). Castleford itself scores 72. Distances are straight-line from this point, and each of those names links to its own full report.

Across the twelve category scores, the closest matches elsewhere in Britain are Halesowen (Dudley, West Midlands, England), Doncaster (Doncaster, Yorkshire and The Humber, England) and Great Yarmouth (Great Yarmouth, East of England, England). Similarity is the average gap across every category both areas have data for, with immediate neighbours excluded, so these are places that score alike rather than places that look alike or sit nearby.

Weather, crime, local amenities, healthcare access, transport access and air quality are measured for this exact point. Cost of living, affordability, housing, employment and broadband come from official statistics for the Wakefield council area, so nearby postcodes and towns in the same council share those figures. Education comes from the local authority, or from the county where attainment is only published at county level. The "How detailed is this report" section explains each level.