Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,469 in Aisne, Hauts-de-France.
Hirson grades C− overall: better than 19% of compared French towns, and #16 of 23 in Aisne. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 29.9 recorded violent incidents and 30.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €674/m², a 70 m² home costs 2.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes des Trois Rivières. Its strongest is walkability (A): 67% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Hirson does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Hirson with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Hirson as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Tour Florentine, in Buire, 0.9 mi away.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hirson.
Hirson ranks last of the 23 compared towns in Aisne on the Safety Grade. Jobs outnumber working residents in Hirson (3,800 to 2,450): it draws people in from around. Police and gendarmerie figures for Hirson show 476 offenses in 2025. The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For armed robbery, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 0.2% of the index here. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
1,300 deaths in Hirson between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 936: 39% above. Adjusted mortality locally: 112 deaths for every 100 expected. This Aisne town has 9 family doctors. Women in Aisne live to 83.2 on average and men to 77.4 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home step is TownRatings’ own calculation, not an official number.
After tax and benefits, the median income is €18,280 a year per consumption unit. No commute at all: 6.3% of working residents in Hirson at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €674/m², comes from 352 sales of houses and apartments in Hirson from July 2023 to June 2026. Only one of the 24 towns in Aisne costs less to buy into than Hirson, whose median sale is €674/m². Of the homes sold, 93% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €667/m² | 327 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
People 65 and over make up nearly a quarter of the town. Hirson has a median age of 43.6 years. Under 15: 17% of residents.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
| Hirson | Aisne median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 34% | 31% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 15% | 18% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Aisne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On results, collèges and lycées here come #13 of 24 in Aisne.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Georges CobastNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 93 | 84%+7 pts |
| Lycée Frédéric et Irène Joliot CurieNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 182 | 91%−4 pts |
| Collège César SavartBest against expectations: 14 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 58 | 83%+14 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Hirson. Best known first.
Nothing in Hirson is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
17 notable people were born in Hirson.
Claire Mairie: Gaël Marziou from Grenoble, France, CC BY 2.0 · Gustave Macon: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Gérard Leclerc: Phidelorme, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jean-Antoine Brisset: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jules Decamp: Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire), Public domain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 28 burglaries and 158 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 45% of compared French towns and #13 of 24 in Aisne. 91% of 182 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Frédéric et Irène Joliot Curie in 2025, 4 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €674/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Hirson grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Aisne, Hauts-de-France
Hirson is a commune of 8,469 people in the Communauté de communes des Trois Rivières. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.