Lupset
Wakefield 026 · 6 sub-areas · 11,225 residents
Wakefield 026 is a predominantly social-rented neighbourhood within Wakefield, home to around 11,200 people. Rents are well below the national average — a typical two-bedroom lets for around £709 a month, noticeably cheaper than most comparable northern areas. Over half of households here are social tenants, which shapes both the cost picture and the community feel.
Lupset is a commuter neighbourhood within Wakefield — train into Leeds runs in around 39 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children.
Overview
What's it like to live in Lupset?
Day-to-day life sits close to greenery — a park or playing field is within easy walking distance of most addresses; 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 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Lupset in Wakefield
Living in Lupset
This part of Wakefield sits firmly at the affordable end of the city's rental market. More than half of all homes here are social housing — a social tenure rate of nearly 54%, which is unusually high even by northern English standards — and that shapes everything from the housing stock to the day-to-day feel of the streets. It's a genuinely affordable place to live, but it's not the polished end of town.
The cost of renting here is among the lowest you'll find in West Yorkshire. A one-bedroom flat runs around £563 a month; a three-bedroom comes in at roughly £848. Rents rose by around 5% in the past year, in line with wider regional trends, but the base is low enough that affordability remains reasonable — at current rents, you'd save a deposit in just over three years. Council tax sits at around £2,297 a year for a Band D property.
Around 28% of residents are under 18, the highest share of any age group, which points to a lot of families. Couples with children make up nearly a quarter of all households. The degree-holding share is modest — around 19% — and the local claimant unemployment rate sits at 3.8%. These are not dramatic outliers, but taken together they paint a picture of a working-age, family-oriented community rather than a student or professional enclave.
The nearest rail station is roughly 2 km away — about a 25-minute walk — and most residents drive: nearly 60% commute by car, with only around 8% using public transport. Working from home accounts for about 17% of residents. The nearest major employment centre is reachable in around 38 minutes. Greenspace is genuinely accessible — about 63% of residents are within a short walk of a green area, with the nearest just 261 metres away on average. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
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Frequently asked
- Is Wakefield 026 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're looking for. It's genuinely affordable and has good greenspace access — about 63% of residents are within an easy walk of a green area. The community is family-oriented and settled. The trade-off is a crime rate roughly double the national average and a school quality picture that's below the national norm. It suits families prioritising cost over prestige.
- What is the rent in Wakefield 026?
- A one-bedroom property averages around £563 a month, a two-bedroom around £709, and a three-bedroom around £848. These are estimated figures scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose by around 4.9% over the past year, but remain well below the national average for comparable properties.
- Is Wakefield 026 safe?
- The crime rate here is around 149 incidents per 1,000 residents per year — roughly double the UK national average of about 80 per 1,000. That's elevated and worth taking seriously. The area sits in the bottom two deprivation deciles nationally, which tends to correlate with higher crime rates. It's not uniformly unsafe, but the aggregate figure is a real consideration.
- What's the commute from Wakefield 026 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest major employment hub is reachable in around 38 minutes by public transport or car. Most residents drive — nearly 60% commute by car — with only about 8% using public transport. The nearest rail station is roughly 2 km away (about a 25-minute walk). Manchester is around 75 minutes by public transport.
- Who lives in Wakefield 026?
- Mostly families — couples with children make up nearly a quarter of all households, and 28% of residents are under 18. Over half of homes are social housing, making it one of the more socially rented neighbourhoods in Yorkshire. The area is predominantly UK-born (around 86%) with a working-age, working-class character and a modest degree-holding share of around 19%.
- What schools are near Wakefield 026?
- There are 66 schools within typical catchment distance, so choice isn't the issue. Around 60% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 1,335 metres away. We'd recommend checking the Ofsted website for current ratings on specific schools before making decisions based on a particular address.
- How affordable is buying a home in Wakefield 026?
- The median sale price is around £193,000 — relatively low by national standards. At current rents, a typical deposit is achievable in just over three years, which is well below the national average. That said, the area's deprivation profile and crime rate mean it's worth researching specific streets carefully before buying.