Health is its strong suit (B+) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 21% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Work and incomes lag: 0.2 jobs per working resident; 9.2% unemployment. It also trails on cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Lavalette has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Lavalette 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 Lavalette.
HealthHealth B+
Mortality in Lavalette, once ages and care homes are allowed for, undercuts Aude’s towns and compared French towns: 79 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Lavalette have one GP on hand. At birth, a girl in Aude can expect 84.4 years and a boy 78.3 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 92 residents of Lavalette died, against 116 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 21% fewer.
−21%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw79
Adjusted79
Median town88
Expected100
1
GPs in Lavalette · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Montreal Carcassonne
7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Carcassonne Antoine Gayraud
84.4 · 78.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Aude, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
For a house, the estimated advertised rent is €7.85/m² a month. The estimated advertised rent is €11.04/m² a month, near Aude’s towns (€10.99/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Sales in Lavalette from July 2023 to June 2026: 63 houses and apartments.
€2,089/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Lavalette€2,089/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Aude median€1,923/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,089/m²
63
€11.04/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.79 to €13.86/m² a month)
6.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.85/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,110
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Carcassonne Agglo
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Children make up 18% of Lavalette, above Aude’s towns and compared French towns
Those 65 and older account for 21% of residents. 10% of residents are 15 to 24, above Aude’s towns (8.9%) and close to compared French towns (11%). Also worth knowing: among adults, 32% have a degree.
43.7median age
LavaletteAude medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
10%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma13%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat24%
Higher education32%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Aude median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Unemployment in Lavalette, 9.2%, runs below Aude’s towns and compared French towns
5.8% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Aude’s towns (11.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €25,750 a year per consumption unit.
6%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving89%
Public transport2%
On foot2%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
150
jobs based in Lavalette, 0.2 per working resident
9.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,750
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 50% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Lavalette
Is Lavalette safe?
Lavalette has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.8 recorded violent incidents and 4.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Lavalette expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Lavalette grades C for cost of living.
About Lavalette
Commune in Aude, Occitanie
Lavalette is a commune of 1,612 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Carcassonne Agglo. 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.
