Overall, Sospel earns a C: better than 31% of compared French towns, and #33 of 43 in Alpes-Maritimes. Its weakest subject is cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is a safe place by the numbers: an average of 6.6 recorded violent incidents and 7.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Residents’ health trails most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: 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 Sospel 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 Sospel.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Sospel than in Alpes-Maritimes or compared French towns: 45 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Sospel is Église Saint-Michel. The town has 17 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 2 classé, the highest protection, and 15 inscrit, the second level. Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a quarter of the total, higher than both Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (6.1%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
For crime per resident, Sospel sits below 87% of compared French towns
52 offenses were reported in Sospel during 2025. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
6.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearASafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage27
Family violence12
Other physical violence7
Burglary6
Drug use23
Fraud13
Theft without violence11
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.
6.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
52
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
17.1%
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 · Small counts of sexual violence, armed robbery, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 17.1% of the index here. As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living C−
Homes in Sospel sell for €2,872/m² at the median, against €4,877/m² in Alpes-Maritimes’ towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Only one of the 51 towns in Alpes-Maritimes costs less to buy into than Sospel, whose median sale is €2,872/m². A house in Sospel goes for €4,086/m², an apartment for €2,451/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €14.56/m² a month, below Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (€18.66/m²) but above compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€2,872/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sospel€2,872/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Alpes-Maritimes median€4,877/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,086/m²
74
Apartments
€2,451/m²
125
€14.56/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.51 to €18.43/m² a month)
7.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€19.11/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,370
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
More deaths than expected: Sospel is above 84% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 512 deaths in Sospel from 2016 to 2025; there were 773, 51% more. Its care home for older people (198 places) counts its residents as Sospel’s; allowing for it, deaths were 3% above expected. The nearest emergency department to Sospel is Centre hospitalier la Palmosa de Menton, 8 mi away. In Alpes-Maritimes, women can expect to live 86.5 years and men 81.1 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
+3%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw151
Adjusted103
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Sospel · 6.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier la Palmosa de Menton
16.7 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
More commuters in Sospel walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Alpes-Maritimes’ towns or compared French towns: 22.3%
The median disposable income was €25,330 a year per consumption unit, below Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (€28,120) and close to compared French towns (€25,970). Jobs located in Sospel: 750, for 1,500 residents in work (0.5 each). Unemployment stands at 11.1%.
22%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving69%
On foot15%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter4%
Bicycle2%
750
jobs based in Sospel, 0.5 per working resident
11.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,330
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 73% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer people in Sospel hold a degree than in Alpes-Maritimes’ towns or compared French towns: 25%
27% of residents are 65 or over, above both Alpes-Maritimes’ towns (24%) and compared French towns (22%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 9.3% of the town. Line up the people of Sospel by age and the one in the middle is 48.4.
48.4median age
SospelAlpes-Maritimes medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Alpes-Maritimes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Vieux pont et tour qui le surmonte: Photo: Promeneuse7 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison Romane: Photo: Sébastien HOSY · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Immeubles et place Saint-Michel: Photo: Sébastien HOSY · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Palais de la Gabelle (ancien): Photo: Sébastien HOSY · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Sospel
Is Sospel safe?
It grades A for safety, #7 of 43 in Alpes-Maritimes. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 6 burglaries and 27 acts of criminal damage.
Is Sospel expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Sospel grades C− for cost of living.
About Sospel
Commune in Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Sospel is a commune of 3,791 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française. 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
3,791 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française
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.
