Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,071 in Ariège, Occitanie.
Le Fossat has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (C): 1.2 jobs per working resident; 11.3% unemployment. At the median price of €1,629/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Arize Lèze. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 80% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 13% 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 one thing Le Fossat does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Le Fossat 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 →
Le Fossat has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1926.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Le Fossat.
Households’ median disposable income: €22,570 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 11.3%, below Ariège’s towns (13.5%) but above compared French towns (10.1%). 6.5% of Le Fossat’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 153 deaths in Le Fossat from 2016 to 2025; there were 204, 33% more. Its care home for older people (47 places) counts its residents as Le Fossat’s; allowing for it, deaths were 5% below expected. The nearest emergency department to Le Fossat is Chiva site Saint Jean de Verges, 14.8 mi away. There are 6 general practitioners locally.
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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to B.
Retirement age and beyond: 27% of residents are 65 or older. Residents of Le Fossat have a median age of 49.9.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
| Le Fossat | Ariège median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 27% | 27% | 22% |
| No diploma | 20% | 21% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 25% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ariège median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Le Fossat has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé). The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,629/m²: 48 houses and apartments sold in Le Fossat between July 2023 and June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.21/m² a month, above Ariège’s towns (€9.99/m²) but below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses are advertised at an estimated €7.85/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,636/m² | 47 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Museums and heritage in and near Le Fossat. Best known first.
The list names few of Le Fossat’s 2 monuments; beside them, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Chapelle Saint-André: Photo: Odile SCHILL · CC BY-SA 3.0
One notable person was born in Le Fossat.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Fossat | 1,071 | — | — | C+ | — | C |
| Saverdun | 4,808 | 9.4 | D | C+ | C | D |
| Montesquieu-Volvestre Haute-Garonne | 3,050 | 9.5 | B | A | A− | B− |
| Pamiers | 16,473 | 11 | C | B+ | D | C |
| Cintegabelle Haute-Garonne | 3,006 | 11 | B | C+ | A | C |
| Rieux-Volvestre Haute-Garonne | 2,639 | 12 | A | A− | A | C− |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga | 2,851 | 12 | B+ | B | B+ | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Le Fossat has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.6 recorded violent incidents and 11.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,629/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Le Fossat grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Ariège, Occitanie
Le Fossat is a commune of 1,071 people in the Communauté de communes Arize Lèze. 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.