The town of Halesowen was until the thirteenth century known as Halas, but it was then gifted to a Welsh prince called Owen and became known as Halas-Owen; in modern times it has always been called Halesowen. Halesowen was originally a village in the county of Shropshire, but around the turn of the 20th century it grew to become a town and was transferred to the county of Worcestershire. Halesowen then became a borough, a status which it held until 1974 when it was incorporated into the new Dudley Metropolitan Borough. It also became part of the West Midlands Metropolitan county.

The centre of Halesowen is home to a Norman church, a football ground (where non-league Halesowen Town F.C. play) and a College of Further Education which was founded in 1939.

Halesowen was recorded in the Domesday Book as larger than Birmingham. Ironically, the city of Birmingham (ten miles east of Halesowen) is now the second largest city in England and Halesowen is now part of the local government area of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Most of the housing stock in Halesowen is privately owned and was built in the 30 years which followed the end of the Second World War, although some parts of the town are still made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses. The town centre was almost completely rebuilt during the 1960s.

In the eastern part of Halesowen is Leasowes Park which was originally a garden owned by the eighteenth century poet William Shenstone. Although he has been dead for some 200 years, Shenstone is still one of the most famous names associated with Halesowen: the local theatre and a Wetherspoon's watering hole are both named after him. Somers Forge industries is the premier industry in Halesowen.