West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It covers 783 square miles (2,029 km2), and its five boroughs held 2,350,407 people at the 2021 census. Leeds is the largest settlement and the county’s commercial centre.
There is no county council. It was abolished in 1986, and the five metropolitan boroughs now run services directly, working together through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority under an elected mayor.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Area | 783 sq mi (2,029 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 2,350,407 |
| Density | 1,158 people per km2 (3,000 per sq mi) |
| Largest city | Leeds (809,479 borough; 516,298 built-up area) |
| Boroughs | Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield |
| Created | 1 April 1974 |
| Postcode areas | LS, BD, WF, HD, HX |
Towns and Villages in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire mixes dense city with genuine upland villages: Calderdale and Kirklees run up into the Pennines, and Leeds and Wakefield keep farmland on their eastern edges. The gazetteer records 455 named places; the 275 below are grouped by borough.
Leeds
- Aberford
- Adel
- Allerton Bywater
- Arthington
- Bardsey
- Barwick in Elmet
- Beeston Park
- Belle Isle
- Boston Spa
- Bramham
- Bramhope
- Calverley
- Carlton
- Chapel Allerton
- Clifford
- Collingham
- Cookridge
- Cross Gates
- Drighlington
- East Keswick
- Farsley
- Garforth
- Gildersome
- Guiseley
- Harewood
- Headingley
- Holbeck
- Horsforth
- Kippax
- Kirkstall
- Ledsham
- Ledston
- Leeds
- Lofthouse
- Methley
- Middleton
- Morley
- Otley
- Pool
- Pudsey
- Robin Hood
- Rodley
- Rothwell
- Roundhay
- Scarcroft
- Scholes
- Shadwell
- Stanningley
- Swillington
- Thorner
- Thorp Arch
- Walton
- Wetherby
- Woodlesford
- Yeadon
Bradford
- Addingham
- Addingham Moorside
- Apperley Bridge
- Baildon
- Ben Rhydding
- Bierley
- Bingley
- Bradford
- Brunthwaite
- Burley in Wharfedale
- Buttershaw
- Catherine Slack
- Clayton
- Cross Roads
- Cullingworth
- Denholme
- East Morton
- Eastburn
- Esholt
- Flappit Spring
- Hainworth
- Harden
- Haworth
- High Brunthwaite
- Idle
- Ilkley
- Ingrow
- Keighley
- Laycock
- Little Germany
- Low Moor
- Lumb Foot
- Menston
- Micklethwaite
- Middleton
- Newsholme
- Oakworth
- Oldfield
- Oxenhope
- Queensbury
- Saltaire
- Sawood
- Scar Top
- Shipley
- Silsden
- Small Banks
- Stanbury
- Steeton
- Thornton
- Tong
- Utley
- West Scholes
- Wibsey
- Wilsden
- Wyke
Kirklees
- Almondbury
- Arrunden
- Batley
- Birkenshaw
- Birstall
- Blackmoorfoot
- Bradshaw
- Brockholes
- Clayton West
- Cleckheaton
- Denby Dale
- Dewsbury
- Emley
- Farnley Tyas
- Flockton
- Fulstone
- Golcar
- Gomersal
- Grange Moor
- Heckmondwike
- Hepworth
- Hole Bottom
- Holme
- Holmfirth
- Honley
- Huddersfield
- Kirkburton
- Kirkheaton
- Lepton
- Lindley
- Linthwaite
- Liversedge
- Lower Denby
- Marsden
- Meltham
- Meltham Mills
- Mirfield
- Nether End
- Netherthong
- New Mill
- Ravensthorpe
- Roberttown
- Scammonden
- Scissett
- Shelley
- Shepley
- Skelmanthorpe
- Slaithwaite
- Thornhill
- Thunder Bridge
- Thurstonland
- Upper Cumberworth
- Upperthong
- Whitley Lower
- Wooldale
Calderdale
- Barkisland
- Beeston Hurst
- Blackshaw Head
- Booth
- Brearley
- Brighouse
- Clough Foot
- Colden
- Cornholme
- Cragg vale
- Eastwood
- Elland
- Elland Upper Edge
- Greenfield
- Greetland
- Halifax
- Hebden Bridge
- Heptonstall
- Hipperholme
- Holywell Green
- Hubberton Green
- Lighthazles
- Luddenden
- Luddenden Foot
- Lumbrook
- Lydgate
- Mankinholes
- Midgley
- Mill Bank
- Mytholmroyd
- Nook
- Norland Town
- Northowram
- Norwood Green
- Ogden
- Old Lindley
- Ovenden
- Portsmouth
- Rastrick
- Ripponden
- Rishworth
- Shackleton
- Shelf
- Southowram
- Sowerby Bridge
- Sowood
- Soyland Town
- Stainland
- Stump Cross
- Thornhills
- Todmorden
- Triangle
- Wainstalls
- Walsden
- Walshaw
Wakefield
- Ackton
- Ackworth Moor Top
- Altofts
- Badsworth
- Calder Grove
- Carleton
- Castleford
- Chapelthorpe
- Crigglestone
- Crofton
- Darrington
- East Hardwick
- Eastmoor
- Featherstone
- Ferrybridge
- Fitzwilliam
- Foulby
- Hall Green
- Havercroft
- Hemsworth
- Holmfield
- Horbury
- Kinsley
- Kirkhamgate
- Knottingley
- Low Ackworth
- Methley Lanes
- Middlestown
- Moorthorpe
- Netherton
- Newmillerdam
- Normanton
- North Elmsall
- Notton
- Old Snydale
- Ossett
- Outwood
- Pontefract
- Ryhill
- Sandal
- Sharlston
- South Elmsall
- South Hiendley
- South Kirkby
- Stanley
- Streethouse
- Thorpe Audlin
- Upton
- Wakefield
- Walton
- Wentbridge
- West Bretton
- Woolley
- Wragby
- Wrenthorpe
By built-up area, Leeds (516,298 at the 2021 census) is followed by Bradford (366,187), Huddersfield (162,949) and Wakefield (109,766). Halifax, Dewsbury, Batley, Keighley, Castleford and Pontefract are the next tier.
Geography
The Pennines form the western wall of the county, rising above 450 metres on the moors behind Todmorden and Marsden. Three rivers cut east from them. The Aire runs through Keighley, Shipley and Leeds, the Calder through Todmorden, Halifax and Wakefield, and the Wharfe past Ilkley and Wetherby.
North Yorkshire lies north and east, South Yorkshire south, Derbyshire at the southern tip of Kirklees, Greater Manchester west and Lancashire north-west. Part of the Peak District National Park falls inside Kirklees.
Demographics
The 2021 census recorded 809,479 people in Leeds, 546,839 in Bradford, 433,458 in Kirklees, 353,803 in Wakefield and 206,828 in Calderdale. The county gained about 123,000 residents over the decade.
Bradford has one of the youngest populations of any British district, with a median age in the low thirties. Four universities operate in the county, and Leeds alone teaches more than 60,000 students.
Economy and Local Life
Leeds is the largest centre for financial and legal services outside London, with clearing banks, insurers and the Bank of England’s northern hub. Channel 4 moved its national headquarters there in 2019.
Textiles built the county and still leave their mark: worsted mills in Bradford, wool in Huddersfield, carpets in Dewsbury. Engineering, chemicals and food processing took over most of the mill sites, and the upper Calder valley has moved towards tourism, small manufacturing and Manchester commuting.
History
The county was created in 1974 from the industrial core of the old West Riding of Yorkshire. Before that, the Riding had run its own affairs from Wakefield since 1889.
Titus Salt built Saltaire near Shipley from 1851 as a model village around his mill; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Brontë sisters wrote at Haworth parsonage above Keighley. Pontefract had one of the strongest castles in the north until Parliament ordered it demolished in 1649.
Getting There
The M62 crosses the Pennines and the county from west to east, meeting the M1 at Lofthouse and the M606 spur into Bradford. The M1 runs north to Leeds, and the A1(M) passes the eastern edge near Wetherby.
Leeds station is the busiest in the North of England. Direct trains reach London King’s Cross in about two hours, with TransPennine routes to Manchester, York and Hull. Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield all have frequent regional services. Leeds Bradford Airport sits at Yeadon, between the two cities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of West Yorkshire?
2,350,407 across its five boroughs at the 2021 census.
What is the largest town in West Yorkshire?
Leeds, with 516,298 people in its built-up area and 809,479 in the wider city borough. Bradford is second.
Which councils cover West Yorkshire?
Five metropolitan boroughs: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. There has been no county council since 1986.
Is West Yorkshire the same as the West Riding?
No. The West Riding was much larger, reaching from Sheffield to the Dales. West Yorkshire took only its central industrial belt when the counties were redrawn in 1974.
What postcode areas cover West Yorkshire?
LS for Leeds, BD for Bradford, WF for Wakefield, HD for Huddersfield and HX for Halifax. Todmorden uses OL14.
Where is West Yorkshire?
In northern England, on the eastern slope of the Pennines, between North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.