South Elmsall
Wakefield 044 · 4 sub-areas · 7,611 residents
Wakefield 044 is a residential area within Wakefield, home to around 7,600 people and noticeably affordable even by Yorkshire standards. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £709 a month — well under the national average for that size — and you can save a deposit in under three years. The trade-off is that schools within catchment distance significantly underperform the national picture.
South Elmsall is a commuter neighbourhood within Wakefield — train into Leeds runs in around 44 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it.
Overview
What's it like to live in South Elmsall?
2 parks and 4 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; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; 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.
South Elmsall in Wakefield
Living in South Elmsall
This part of Wakefield sits in the more affordable tier of the district, with a character shaped more by settled families and long-term residents than by young professionals chasing city-centre energy. Nearly six in ten households own their home, which gives the area a stable, rooted feel. That's high for a place where house prices remain accessible — a typical home sells for around £170,000.
The cost picture is one of the strongest arguments for moving here. At roughly £709 a month for a two-bed, you're paying a fraction of what equivalent space costs in most southern cities, and well below the UK national median of around £1,200 for the same size. Even renting takes up about 41% of take-home pay — tight by any measure, but reflective of local salary levels rather than runaway rents. Median resident earnings run to just under £30,000 a year.
The population skews broadly across age groups, with a slightly above-average share of under-18s at nearly 22% — a signal of the family households that dominate here. Social housing accounts for over a quarter of all tenures, which is meaningfully higher than the national norm and shapes both the community mix and the local services on offer.
Getting around leans heavily on the car: nearly 69% of residents drive to work, and the nearest rail station is roughly a kilometre away — about a 12-minute walk. Working from home has taken hold for around 14% of residents, and gigabit broadband is available to every property here, which makes that viable. The nearest major employment hub is around 44 minutes away. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how this neighbourhood breaks down.
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Frequently asked
- Is Wakefield 044 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, affordable residential area that suits families and owner-occupiers well. House prices are accessible, rents are low by national standards, and greenspace is close for most residents. The trade-offs are a higher-than-average crime rate, weaker school ratings within catchment, and heavy car dependency for getting around.
- What is the rent in Wakefield 044?
- A one-bedroom place runs around £563 a month, a two-bed about £709, and a three-bed roughly £848. These are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 5% over the past year.
- Is Wakefield 044 safe?
- Crime runs at about 98 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is above the UK national rate of around 80 per 1,000. It's not exceptional within Wakefield itself, but it does sit in the more pressured third of English neighbourhoods. Worth factoring in, particularly if you're moving from a lower-crime area.
- What's the commute from Wakefield 044 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest major employment hub is around 44 minutes away by public transport or car. Leeds is the closest large centre. Manchester takes roughly 83 minutes by rail or bus, and London is around two hours. Most residents drive to work — nearly 69% commute by car.
- Who lives in Wakefield 044?
- Mostly settled families and longer-term residents — nearly 59% own their homes. There's a significant social-rented sector at over a quarter of households. The area skews slightly younger in terms of child population, with under-18s making up nearly 22% of residents. It's a low-diversity area with over 91% UK-born.
- What schools are near Wakefield 044?
- There are 20 schools within 2 kilometres, but only around 41% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national figure of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 6.2 kilometres away. Families should map specific catchments carefully before moving here.
- How affordable is buying a home in Wakefield 044?
- Very affordable by national standards. The median sale price is around £170,000, and a typical deposit takes under three years to save at local income levels. Median resident earnings are just under £30,000 a year, which makes ownership realistic for dual-income households.