Crofton
Wakefield 032 · 4 sub-areas · 6,699 residents
Wakefield 032 is a residential area within Wakefield, home to around 6,700 people and noticeably more affordable than the national average. A typical two-bedroom home rents for about £709 a month — well under the UK median for a 2-bed — and owner-occupation is high, with nearly three in four households owning their home. Rents rose around 5% last year, in line with the wider Yorkshire market.
Crofton is a commuter neighbourhood within Wakefield — train into Leeds runs in around 57 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. Most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Crofton?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £787 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Crofton in Wakefield
Living in Crofton
This part of Wakefield sits firmly in owner-occupier territory. Nearly three quarters of households own their home, which shapes the feel of the area — it's quieter and more settled than parts of the city with a heavier rental mix, and there's a noticeably older age profile, with over two in five residents aged 50 or above.
Affordability is the headline draw. A two-bed here runs around £709 a month and the median house price sits at roughly £235,000 — meaning a deposit is achievable in under four years on a typical local salary. That's a meaningful contrast to southern England, where the same calculation can stretch to a decade or more. Council tax at Band D comes to around £2,297 a year, which is broadly in line with the wider Wakefield district.
The population skews slightly older: the 50–64 and 65-plus groups together account for over 43% of residents, and single-person households make up around a quarter of all homes. Families with children are present — around one in five households is a couple with children — but this isn't a neighbourhood defined by young professional churn or student turnover. The ethnic diversity index is low at 6.7, and around 95% of residents were born in the UK, reflecting the demographic character of much of the Wakefield district.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 2.7 km away — about a 34-minute walk, though most residents drive. Car use is dominant here: around 65% of residents commute by car, and just over 4% use public transport. Working from home is fairly common at around 24%, above what you'd typically see in manual-heavy towns. Greenspace is within easy reach, with the nearest accessible green area around 390 metres away. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
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Frequently asked
- Is Wakefield 032 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, owner-occupied residential area that suits people looking for affordability and quiet suburban living. The crime rate is below the UK average, greenspace is nearby, and broadband is excellent. The trade-off is that public transport is limited and school quality within catchment distance is well below the national average, so it suits car owners more than those relying on buses or trains.
- What is the rent in Wakefield 032?
- A one-bed typically costs around £563 a month, a two-bed around £709, and a three-bed around £848. These figures are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose roughly 4.9% over the past year, but they remain well below the UK median for equivalent property sizes.
- Is Wakefield 032 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The crime rate here is around 63.5 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, noticeably below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area's deprivation score places it in the middle of the national distribution — neither particularly deprived nor affluent — which tends to correlate with a stable crime picture.
- What's the commute from Wakefield 032 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 2.7 km away — most residents drive to it. Leeds is reachable by public transport in under an hour from Wakefield, and Manchester takes around 90 minutes. The area's best-hub travel time to a major employment centre is roughly 59 minutes. Around 65% of residents commute by car, with very few using public transport.
- Who lives in Wakefield 032?
- Mostly older, settled owner-occupiers. Over 43% of residents are aged 50 or above, and nearly three quarters own their home. Single-person households account for about a quarter of all homes. It's not a young professional or student area — turnover is low and the community feel is established rather than transient.
- What schools are near Wakefield 032?
- There are 20 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 35% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 5.1 km away. If schools are a priority, it's worth checking individual catchment boundaries with Wakefield Council's admissions team before deciding.
- Is Wakefield 032 good for first-time buyers?
- It's one of the more accessible areas for ownership in the region. The median house price is around £235,000 and on a typical local salary you can reach a deposit in under four years — relatively quick by national standards. Owner-occupation is already high at nearly 75%, which suggests a stable housing market with low speculative pressure.