Hemsworth Town
Wakefield 042 · 5 sub-areas · 8,261 residents
Wakefield 042 is a residential area within Wakefield, home to around 8,200 people and sitting at the more affordable end of the local market. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £709 a month. The area skews noticeably older than Wakefield as a whole, with nearly a quarter of residents aged 65 or over.
Hemsworth Town is a green, lower-density part of Wakefield — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters.
Overview
What's it like to live in Hemsworth Town?
4 parks and 3 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; Recorded crime is higher than the national norm — common for built-up urban areas, but worth weighing if you're looking for a quieter base; 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 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Hemsworth Town in Wakefield
Living in Hemsworth Town
This part of Wakefield is largely owner-occupied and settled in character. Nearly six in ten residents own their home, and the population skews older — more than two in five people are aged 50 or above, which gives the area a quieter, more established feel than Wakefield's student or commuter-facing neighbourhoods. Social housing accounts for around a quarter of homes, which is above the national average and shapes who the area attracts.
Rents here are low by any measure. A two-bedroom home at roughly £709 a month puts this firmly at the affordable end of the Wakefield market, and costs are a fraction of what you'd pay in Leeds or Manchester. Buying is accessible too — the median sale price sits at around £187,000, and at the current savings rate a deposit is achievable in just over three years. Council tax (Band D) comes to around £2,297 a year, which is in line with the wider Wakefield district.
The resident population is almost entirely UK-born — around 96% — and the ethnic diversity index is low at 4.3. Degree-level qualifications are held by around 18% of residents, which is below the national average, reflecting the area's working and lower-middle-class roots. Median resident earnings sit at around £30,000 a year, broadly in line with what local employers pay.
Getting around relies heavily on the car — roughly two thirds of residents commute by vehicle, and only around 5% use public transport for work. The nearest mainline rail station is about 3 kilometres away. The nearest major employment hub is accessible in around 63 minutes. Working from home accounts for about 16% of residents, which is a meaningful share for an area of this type. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets within the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Wakefield 042 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. It's quiet, affordable and owner-occupied in character, which suits older residents and those on tighter budgets. The trade-off is that crime is elevated — roughly double the UK rate — and the area sits in the bottom two deprivation deciles nationally. It's not the most polished part of Wakefield, but it's genuinely cheap.
- What is the rent in Wakefield 042?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £563 a month, a two-bedroom around £709, and a three-bedroom around £848. These are estimates scaled from Wakefield-level data rather than direct neighbourhood-level figures, but they give a reasonable guide.
- Is Wakefield 042 safe?
- Crime runs at around 150 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — roughly double the UK national rate. That's notably high. The area's deprivation level and social-housing concentration are likely contributing factors. It's worth checking street-level crime data on the police.uk website before committing to a specific street.
- What's the commute from Wakefield 042 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest major employment hub is around 63 minutes away by public transport or car. A rail journey to Manchester takes about 100 minutes and to London around 155 minutes. The nearest mainline station is roughly 3 kilometres away — most residents drive to it. Only about 5.5% of residents use public transport for their commute.
- Who lives in Wakefield 042?
- Mostly older, settled residents — nearly a quarter are aged 65 or over, and another 22% are in the 50–64 bracket. Around 60% own their home, a quarter are in social housing, and just 15% are private renters. The area is predominantly UK-born and has low ethnic diversity.
- What schools are near Wakefield 042?
- There are 27 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 44% are rated Good or Outstanding. The nearest Outstanding school is about 3 kilometres away. Check Ofsted's website to identify specific schools and their ratings before choosing a street.
- Is Wakefield 042 affordable to buy in?
- Yes. The median sale price is around £187,000, and based on typical local savings rates a deposit is achievable in just over three years. That's considerably more accessible than the UK average. Council tax (Band D) comes to around £2,297 a year, which is roughly in line with the wider Wakefield district.