Narbonne grades D− overall: behind almost every compared French town, and #19 of 22 in Aude. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 13.2 recorded violent incidents and 31.2 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 €2,388/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Narbonne. Its strongest is walkability (A): 84% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% 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 Narbonne 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 Narbonne.
Safety
Narbonne sees more crime per resident than 97% of compared French towns
Narbonne has 30,500 jobs for 19,950 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Police and gendarmerie figures for Narbonne show 2,599 offenses in 2025. More of the graded crimes in the town were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
13.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,008
Theft from vehicles430
Burglary310
Family violence298
Other physical violence269
Vehicle theft142
Sexual violence135
Armed robbery7
Theft without violence866
Fraud365
Drug use363
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.
13.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
31.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,599
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Narbonne has higher unemployment than Aude’s towns or compared French towns: 18.0%
Half of residents lived on more than €22,220 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Aude’s towns (€23,350) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 4.1% of working residents in Narbonne didn’t travel to work at all.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot10%
Public transport6%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
30,500
jobs based in Narbonne, 1.5 per working resident
18.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,220
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 89% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 2005, and 64 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Narbonne has 11 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Aude’s towns (5.1) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2005. The earliest of these monuments dates from prehistory. Among the classé monuments here is Oppidum de Montlaurès.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
82.3% of candidates passed the brevet at the six collèges within 5 km, 4.4 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Narbonne, 90.8% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Aude’s towns (91.8%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). Vocational results within 5 km: 78% passed the bac pro, of 221 candidates at 2 lycées. By results, schools here place #9 of 15 in Aude.
94%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
For cost of living, Narbonne gets a C−
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses in Narbonne sell for €2,667/m² and apartments for €2,222/m². The median price, €2,388/m², comes from 3,086 sales of houses and apartments in the town from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.46/m² a month, near Aude’s towns (€10.99/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€2,388/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Narbonne€2,388/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Aude median€1,923/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,667/m²
1,126
Apartments
€2,222/m²
1,960
€11.46/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.21 to €14.27/m² a month)
7.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.36/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,340
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Narbonne
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Adjusted for age and care homes, Narbonne sees more deaths than 74% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
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, 6,935 residents of Narbonne died, against 6,609 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% more. Its six care homes for older people (511 places) count their residents as Narbonne’s; allowing for them, deaths were 2% below expected. 61 GPs practise here.
−2%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw105
Adjusted98
Median town88
Expected100
61
GPs in Narbonne · 4.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Narbonne Hotel Dieu
0.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Narbonne Hotel Dieu
84.4 · 78.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Aude, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A young town: 12% of people in Narbonne are 15 to 24, more than in Aude’s towns and across compared French towns
27% of residents have reached 65. Narbonne has a median age of 46.4 years. Degrees are held by 30% of adults, about level with compared French towns (30%) and above Aude’s towns (25%).
46.4median age
NarbonneAude medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
Oppidum de Montlaurès: Photo: Tournasol7 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cimetière païen et paléochrétien de Saint-Loup: Photo: Thierry de Villepin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edifice romain dit "Horreum": Photo: Thierry de Villepin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Site archéologique de Port La Nautique: Photo: Lothur · CC0
saint Sébastien: Marco Palmezzano, Public domain · Charles Trenet: Comet Photo AG, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Camille Lacourt: Erio Tac FRANCE, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville: Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Public domain · Dimitri Szarzewski: Helene Brasseur, CC BY 2.0 · Joë Bousquet: Sasha Blonder, CC BY-SA 4.0
Narbonne’s 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 Narbonne
Is Narbonne safe?
It grades D− for safety, #19 of 22 in Aude. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 310 burglaries and 1,008 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Narbonne good?
They grade C−, better than 16% of compared French towns and #9 of 15 in Aude. 97% of 313 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Docteur Lacroix in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Narbonne 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 €2,388/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Narbonne grades C− for cost of living.
About Narbonne
Commune in Aude, Occitanie
Narbonne is a commune of 57,587 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Narbonne. 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.
