Ax-les-Thermes has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is schools (D): brevet results 7 points below the expected rate. At the median price of €2,524/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes de la Haute Ariège. Its strongest is health (A+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 34% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Ax-les-Thermes 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 Ax-les-Thermes.
HealthHealth A+
Mortality in Ax-les-Thermes, once ages and care homes are allowed for, undercuts Ariège’s towns and compared French towns: 66 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ax-les-Thermes has 5 family doctors. The nearest emergency department to Ax-les-Thermes is Chiva site Lavelanet Ch du Pays D Olmes Hop Proximite, 14.7 mi away. 202 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 234: 14% below. Also worth knowing: in Ariège, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.9 years for women and 80 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France.
−34%deaths against expected, after care homesA+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw86
Adjusted66
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Ax-les-Thermes · 4.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chiva site Lavelanet Ch du Pays D Olmes Hop Proximite
24.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chiva site Saint Jean de Verges
84.9 · 80
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ariège, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ax-les-Thermes gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than in both Ariège’s towns and compared French towns: 38.1% of commuters
Unemployment runs at 10.7%. Ax-les-Thermes has 1,050 jobs for 550 working residents, 1.9 per worker. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €23,640 a year.
38%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving53%
On foot32%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,050
jobs based in Ax-les-Thermes, 1.9 per working resident
10.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,640
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 92% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
Schools around Ax-les-Thermes do less well than those of 88% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
85.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collèges within 5 km of Ax-les-Thermes, close to Ariège’s towns (86.0%) and below compared French towns (87.5%). There is no general lycée within 5 km; one lies 17.3 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Ax-les-Thermes than in Ariège’s towns or compared French towns: 9.4% are under 15
Those 65 and older account for just over a third of residents. 7.1% of the population is aged 15 to 24, below Ariège’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Degrees are held by 33% of adults.
55median age
Ax-les-ThermesAriège medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
34%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP21%
Baccalauréat22%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ariège median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C−
Renting in Ax-les-Thermes costs an estimated advertised €12.55/m² a month, against €9.99/m² in Ariège’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €2,175/m² in Ax-les-Thermes, apartments for €2,619/m². 238 sales of houses and apartments locally, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,524/m². A house rents for an estimated €8.58/m² a month.
€2,524/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ax-les-Thermes€2,524/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ariège median€1,645/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,175/m²
41
Apartments
€2,619/m²
197
€12.55/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.09 to €17.33/m² a month)
7.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.58/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,640
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de la Haute Ariège
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Ax-les-Thermes sees more crime per resident than 82% of compared French towns
Graded property crimes ran at 25.2 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 5.3 (2023–2025 average). Police and gendarmerie recorded 38 offenses in Ax-les-Thermes in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Ax-les-Thermes (2025).
5.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage22
Other physical violence10
Theft from vehicles6
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence33
Fraud9
Drug use7
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.
5.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
25.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
38
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
14.1%
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 · When family violence, sexual violence, burglary and vehicle theft number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (14.1% of the index here). With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
1 historic monument and a protected historic area since 2021
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Since 2021, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. Protection here reaches back to the 13th century. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2021.
1historic monument
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé0
Inscrit1
13th c.
oldest protected part
1979
first monument protected
2021
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Ax-les-Thermes
Are schools in Ax-les-Thermes good?
They grade D, better than 12% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ax-les-Thermes 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 €2,524/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Ax-les-Thermes grades C− for cost of living.
About Ax-les-Thermes
Commune in Ariège, Occitanie
Ax-les-Thermes is a commune of 1,285 people in the Communauté de communes de la Haute Ariège. 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.
