The data are hard on it. Safety lags: an average of 10.7 recorded violent incidents and 26.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Arles ranks #74 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône, with a D overall. On that grade it does better than 11% of compared French towns. It is easy to get around without a car (A): 73% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 18% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €2,793/m² costs 8.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération d'Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Arles 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 Arles.
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1966, and 98 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Arles counts 19 protected monuments, above Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (1.5) and compared French towns (2.5) alike. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1966. The protected list starts in Antiquity. Among the classé monuments locally is Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Arles than in 93% of compared French towns
Over 2025, Arles logged 1,789 recorded offenses. Of the graded crimes locally, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
10.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage532
Theft from vehicles356
Other physical violence257
Burglary210
Family violence197
Vehicle theft117
Sexual violence115
Armed robbery5
Theft without violence692
Drug use486
Fraud323
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.
10.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
26.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,789
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living D
The median home in Arles sells for €2,793/m², against €3,824/m² in Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Arles, houses go for €2,952/m² and apartments for €2,540/m². The estimated advertised rent is €13.00/m² a month, lower than Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (€15.81/m²) and near compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses accounted for 61% of sales, apartments for the rest.
€2,793/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Arles€2,793/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Bouches-du-Rhône median€3,824/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,952/m²
1,057
Apartments
€2,540/m²
674
€13.00/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.60 to €15.94/m² a month)
8.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.80/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,990
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération d'Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Money is tighter in Arles than in Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €22,740 a year per consumption unit
At the census, 18.3% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Of those in the labour force, 11.7% are unemployed. Arles has 20,800 jobs for 19,250 working residents, 1.1 per worker.
18%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot8%
Public transport6%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter2%
20,800
jobs based in Arles, 1.1 per working resident
11.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,740
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 87% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Arles sees 92 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 5,803 residents of Arles died, against 5,664 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. In Bouches-du-Rhône, life expectancy at birth reaches 86 years for women and 81 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. This Bouches-du-Rhône town has 105 family doctors.
−8%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted92
Median town88
Expected100
105
GPs in Arles · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Joseph Imbert D Arles
0.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Joseph Imbert D Arles
86 · 81
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Bouches-du-Rhône, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for France
Degrees are held by 30% of adults, below Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (36%) and close to compared French towns (30%). Those 65 and older account for 24% of residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
45.5median age
ArlesBouches-du-Rhône medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bouches-du-Rhône 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Ancien collège des Jésuites et ancien hôtel de Laval-Castellane, actuellement musée d'art chrétien et Museon Arlaten: Photo: Finoskov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Groupe cathédral paléochrétien et couvent Saint-Césaire: Photo: Finoskov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Théâtre romain: Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Amphithéatre ou Arènes: Photo: PierreSelim · CC BY 3.0
Jeanne Calment: Gustave Ouvière, Public domain · Constantin II: TcfkaPanairjdde, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Djibril Cissé: Zack, CC BY 3.0 · Ismaël Bennacer: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Serhou Guirassy: feguifoot, Public domain · Gaël Givet: RoverTheBendInSussex, CC BY-SA 3.0
Arles’ 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 Arles
Is Arles safe?
It grades D for safety, #80 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 210 burglaries and 532 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Arles good?
They grade B, better than 59% of compared French towns and #33 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône. 92% of 291 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Louis Pasquet 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 Arles expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Arles grades D for cost of living.
About Arles
Commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Arles is a commune of 51,811 people in the Communauté d'agglomération d'Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette. 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.
