Barcelonnette’s lowest grade is for safety — an average of 12 recorded violent incidents and 17.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With a C overall, Barcelonnette is better than nearly a third of compared French towns. That places it #9 of 15 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Fewer journeys need a car: 88% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 33% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €2,550/m², so 70 m² costs 7.5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Vallée de l'Ubaye - Serre-Ponçon. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Barcelonnette 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.
Tour de l'horloge dite Tour Cardinalis: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0 · Villa Bleue: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barcelonnette.
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Barcelonnette gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than in both Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns and compared French towns: 33.4% of commuters
33%walk, cycle or take transit
After tax and benefits, the median income is €23,600 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 7.2%, below Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns (10.9%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Jobs based in Barcelonnette number 1,450, against 1,150 residents in work (1.3 per worker).
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving59%
On foot22%
Bicycle6%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,450
jobs based in Barcelonnette, 1.3 per working resident
7.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,600
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 91% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
For crime per resident, Barcelonnette sits above 79% of compared French towns
12recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Barcelonnette’s tally for 2025: 84 recorded offenses. On the Safety Grade, Barcelonnette ranks 13th of the 15 compared towns in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Also worth knowing: the graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage41
Other physical violence21
Family violence12
Burglary10
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence27
Drug use21
Fraud14
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.
12
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
84
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
7.7%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 7.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
85.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 4 points below the expected rate
85.0%passed the brevetC−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On school results, the town ranks #10 of 11 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C
Renting in Barcelonnette costs less than in both Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €10.89/m² a month
€2,550/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Barcelonnette, houses go for €3,108/m² and apartments for €2,483/m². 230 sales of houses and apartments locally, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,550/m². The sales split: 16% houses, the rest apartments.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Barcelonnette€2,550/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence median€2,550/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,108/m²
36
Apartments
€2,483/m²
194
€10.89/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.68 to €15.44/m² a month)
7.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.46/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,780
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Vallée de l'Ubaye - Serre-Ponçon
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Barcelonnette than in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns or compared French towns: 14% are under 15
49.2median age
Over-65s are 28% of the population. People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, close to Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns (9.2%) and below compared French towns (11%). The median resident of Barcelonnette is 49.2 years old.
BarcelonnetteAlpes-de-Haute-Provence medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma15%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat23%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Alpes-de-Haute-Provence median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B
Fewer deaths than Barcelonnette’s ages would predict, 84 per 100 expected, under Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns and compared French towns
−16%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
398 deaths in Barcelonnette between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 344: 16% above. The nearest emergency department to Barcelonnette is Centre hospitalier D Embrun, 14.4 mi away. Life expectancy at birth in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is 85.8 years for women and 79.7 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 6 GPs practise in the town.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw116
Adjusted84
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Barcelonnette · 6.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Embrun
30.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chi des Alpes du Sud site de Gap
85.8 · 79.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
4 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2019
4historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, above Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns (8.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. Since 2019, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 14th century. Among the classé monuments in Barcelonnette is Tour de l'horloge dite Tour Cardinalis.
Paul Reynaud: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain · François Arnaud: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jean-Luc Maréchal: Priviet numismatique, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pierre Aucaigne: Michaël Bemelmans, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hippolyte Gassier: Unknwon before 1900, Public domain
About Barcelonnette
Commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Barcelonnette is a commune of 2,518 people in the Communauté de communes Vallée de l'Ubaye - Serre-Ponçon. 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
Population
2,518 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Vallée de l'Ubaye - Serre-Ponçon
Département
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04)
Région
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Area
6.4 sq mi (16.6 km²)
INSEE code
04019
Barcelonnette’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Barcelonnette
Is Barcelonnette safe?
It grades C− for safety, #13 of 15 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 41 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Barcelonnette good?
They grade C−, better than 21% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Barcelonnette expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,550/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Barcelonnette grades C for cost of living.
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.
