Pamiers grades C overall: better than 31% of compared French towns, and #8 of 11 in Ariège. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 14.9 recorded violent incidents and 22.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,572/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes des Portes d'Ariège Pyrénées. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 94% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% 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 overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Pamiers 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 Pamiers.
Safety
Pamiers records more crime per resident than 93% of compared French towns
Pamiers ranks last of the 11 compared towns in Ariège on the Safety Grade. Police and gendarmerie recorded 608 offenses in the graded categories in Pamiers in 2025. For armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here.
14.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage241
Other physical violence105
Family violence83
Burglary54
Sexual violence49
Theft from vehicles49
Vehicle theft27
Theft without violence186
Drug use123
Fraud106
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.
14.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
608
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Pamiers has higher unemployment than Ariège’s towns or compared French towns: 16.3%
That puts Pamiers above both Ariège’s towns (13.5%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Pamiers has 11,400 jobs for 6,700 working residents, 1.7 per worker. The median disposable income is €21,760 a year per consumption unit.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving70%
On foot9%
Bicycle4%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
11,400
jobs based in Pamiers, 1.7 per working resident
16.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,760
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
14%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Pamiers’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 73% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,791 residents of Pamiers died, against 1,686 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% more. Adjusted for age and care homes, Pamiers records 97 deaths per 100 expected, close to Ariège’s towns (95) and above compared French towns (88). The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
11
GPs in Pamiers · 5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chiva site Saint Jean de Verges
6.2 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
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B+
Pamiers gets a B+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.91/m² a month, close to Ariège’s towns (€9.99/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,572/m², comes from 618 sales of houses and apartments in Pamiers from July 2023 to June 2026. In Pamiers, houses go for €1,625/m² and apartments for €1,400/m².
€1,572/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pamiers€1,572/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ariège median€1,645/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,625/m²
413
Apartments
€1,400/m²
205
€9.91/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.92 to €12.40/m² a month)
4.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.36/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,590
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Portes d'Ariège Pyrénées
Théophile Delcassé: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain · Marc-Guillaume-Alexis Vadier: Nicolas François Le Vachez (publisher), Public domain · Yoann Huget: Patrick Subotkiewiez, CC BY 2.0 · Albert Tournier: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Bruno Cathala: "ADLanglet", Public domain · Laurent Bénézech: Nicolas Richoffer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pamiers’ 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 Pamiers
Is Pamiers safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 54 burglaries and 241 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pamiers good?
They grade B, better than 60% of compared French towns and #3 of 10 in Ariège. 97% of 65 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général privé Notre-Dame in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pamiers expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,572/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Pamiers grades B+ for cost of living.
About Pamiers
Commune in Ariège, Occitanie
Pamiers is a commune of 16,473 people in the Communauté de communes des Portes d'Ariège Pyrénées. 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
16,473 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Portes d'Ariège Pyrénées
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.
