A tough set of grades. Where it falls short is cost of living (D−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 13.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is easy to get around without a car: 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 45% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Overall, that makes a D, better than 13% of compared French towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and C+ for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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 Nice 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.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Nice.
HousingCost of living D−
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Nice than in Alpes-Maritimes’ towns or across compared French towns: €20.43/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Homes sold for a median €4,833/m², close to Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (€4,877/m²) and above compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Apartments in Nice sell for €4,792/m², houses for €6,455/m². Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 21,573 homes locally.
€4,833/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Nice€4,833/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Alpes-Maritimes median€4,877/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€6,455/m²
789
Apartments
€4,792/m²
20,784
€20.43/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€15.44 to €27.04/m² a month)
13.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€21.60/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,530
median annual income per consumption unit, Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
On foot, Nice works better than 98% of compared French towns
Nice holds 158,800 jobs; 143,550 of its residents are in work, so 1.1 jobs each. Half of residents lived on more than €24,080 a year per consumption unit, below Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (€28,120) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 12.8% of the labour force are out of work.
45%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving43%
Public transport30%
On foot12%
Motorbike or scooter8%
Bicycle3%
158,800
jobs based in Nice, 1.1 per working resident
12.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,080
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 98% 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, Nice sits above 83% of compared French towns
Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 10.7 cases of violence against people and 20.1 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). For 2025, the figures show 11,243 offenses in Nice. The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
10.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage3,399
Other physical violence1,761
Family violence1,645
Burglary1,454
Theft from vehicles1,299
Vehicle theft911
Sexual violence726
Armed robbery48
Theft without violence5,714
Drug use2,864
Fraud2,554
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.
10.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
11,243
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, Nice sees 90 deaths per 100 expected, against 84 in Alpes-Maritimes’ towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Alpes-Maritimes can expect 86.5 years and a boy 81.1 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 38,179 deaths in Nice between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 39,920: 4% below. This Alpes-Maritimes town has 540 family doctors.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
540
GPs in Nice · 4.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique du Parc Imperial
1.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Santa Maria
86.5 · 81.1
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Alpes-Maritimes, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A young town: 13% of people in Nice are 15 to 24, more than in both Alpes-Maritimes’ towns and compared French towns
39% of adults hold a degree, above both Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (36%) and compared French towns (30%). Typical age in Nice: 43.1, the median. People 65 and over make up nearly a quarter of the town.
43.1median age
NiceAlpes-Maritimes medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP17%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education39%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Alpes-Maritimes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Alpes-Maritimes median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1985, and 81 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Part of the town has been protected as a historic area since 1985. The protected list starts in prehistory. Among the classé monuments in Nice is Grotte préhistorique du Lazaret.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
87.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the 25 collèges within 5 km, at the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Its schools’ results rank #30 of 46 in Alpes-Maritimes. At the 11 general lycées, 95% of 2,893 candidates passed the bac, 0.5 points below the expected rate.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Grotte préhistorique du Lazaret: Photo: Miniwark · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Arènes de Cimiez: Photo: Eric Coffinet · Public domain · Thermes romains de Cimiez, dans le domaine de la villa Garin de Cacconata: Photo: Eric Coffinet · Public domain · Fortifications de la porte Pairolière: Photo: Miniwark · CC BY-SA 3.0
Giuseppe Garibaldi: In album: Cartes-de-visite portraits of U.S. Army officers, children, and others, p. 15, right., Public domain · J. M. G. Le Clézio: Holger Motzkau, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Henry Cavendish: George Wilson, Public domain · Hugo Lloris: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jules Bianchi: Henry Mineur, CC BY-SA 3.0 · André Masséna: After Antoine-Jean Gros, Public domain
Nice’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 Nice
Is Nice safe?
It grades C− for safety, #40 of 43 in Alpes-Maritimes. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 1,454 burglaries and 3,399 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Nice good?
They grade B−, better than 50% of compared French towns and #30 of 46 in Alpes-Maritimes. 92% of 489 candidates passed the bac at Lycée du Parc Impérial in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Nice expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Nice grades D− for cost of living.
About Nice
Commune in Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Nice is a commune of 357,737 people in the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. 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
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.
