Calderdale is a beautiful area in West Yorkshire, between Leeds and Manchester, with unique natural landscapes, vibrant towns, diverse and resilient communities and a thriving arts and cultural scene – that’s why we’re celebrating the borough’s 50th anniversary with a Year of Culture from April 2024 to April 2025.
Although one of the smallest metropolitan boroughs in terms of its population of 206,600 (2021 Census), it is one of the largest by area size (140 square miles), with over 80% being rural.
The borough has an ageing population. Between the last two Censuses, the average age of Calderdale residents increased from 40 to 42. The number of people aged 65 to 74 rose by nearly a quarter, while the number of residents between 35 and 49 fell by just under 6000 (a 13% decrease).
We are rich in diversity of cultures. In 2021, 10.5% of Calderdale residents identified their ethnic group within the ‘Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’ category, up from 8.3% in 2011 - the largest increase among ethnic groups in this area.
In 2021, 86.1% of people in Calderdale identified their ethnic group within the ‘white’ category (compared to 89.7% in 2011), while 1.9% identified their ethnic group within the ‘mixed or multiple’ category (compared with 1.4% in the previous decade).
Once known as ‘the town of 100 trades’, Halifax was traditionally a manufacturing area based around textiles and had a pioneering role in the Industrial Revolution.
Apart from manufacturing, the biggest employers are in wholesale or retail (15%), health and social care (11%), education (9%) and financial services (8%). Halifax is the birthplace of the former building society of the same name, and Lloyds Bank still has a large presence in the borough today.
Calderdale has become nationally and internationally recognised, with audiences across the world watching widely celebrated TV series and films that have been located in Calderdale, including Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley, and Marvel Secret Invasion.
People have flocked to the borough to visit the places they’ve seen on screen, bringing wide- ranging economic benefits.
Calderdale is home to many flourishing and creative digital industries, and offers inspiring places for creative businesses to locate and invest. We also welcome and seek to attract green businesses to our borough in line with our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2038.
Calderdale has a proud tradition of volunteering, and a strong voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Working with our partner organisations and communities, and a team of nearly 3000 employees, the Council provides over 600 services, from bin collections, libraries and highways, to targeted social care.
