Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 21,597: a town in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Buying in is costly (D−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Gardanne’s overall grade is D, better than 7% of compared French towns. It ranks #83 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−). Its strongest subject is walkability — 75% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 10% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools and C+ for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Gardanne 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 →
The one thing Gardanne does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Gardanne, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Wikidata records 4 people born in Gardanne before 1900, the earliest Claude de Forbin Gardane, in 1656.
Gardanne has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Pavillon de chasse du Roi René: Photo: Le Passant · CC BY-SA 3.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gardanne.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €4,230/m² in Gardanne, apartments for €3,278/m². The estimated advertised rent is €16.21/m² a month, close to Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (€15.81/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). House rents are put at about €16.63/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,230/m² | 252 |
| Apartments | €3,278/m² | 354 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Bouches-du-Rhône: 86 years for women and 81 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. Adjusted for age and care homes, Gardanne records 100 deaths per 100 expected, above both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,812 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,905, 5% more.
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.
Violence against people ran at 9.5 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 19.9 (2023–2025 average). 2025 saw 594 offenses recorded in Gardanne. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · 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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Jobs based in Gardanne number 8,350, against 9,350 residents in work (0.9 per worker). Unemployment stood at 10.6%, above Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (9.4%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. 2.3% of the town’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
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Gardanne, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
People 65 and over make up 20% of the town, lower than both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (22%) and compared French towns (22%). 32% of adults hold a degree. Ages in Gardanne split evenly at 43: half are older, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bouches-du-Rhône 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Gardanne | Bouches-du-Rhône median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 18% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 22% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 32% | 36% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Bouches-du-Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Gardanne, 97.3% passed the bac, higher than both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (92.6%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Schools rank #53 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Gabriel PériNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 88 | 78%−1 pt |
| Lycée polyvalent Marie-Madeleine FourcadeNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 482 | 98%±0 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Museums, heritage and family days out in and near Gardanne. Best known first.
14 notable people were born in Gardanne.
Daniel Xuereb: Panini, Public domain · Claude de Forbin Gardane: Antoine Graincourt, Public domain · Jean-Michel Ferrand: Valérie Suau, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marion Lenne: Marion lenne, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Félix Baret: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Marcel Petit: Shapforce, CC BY-SA 4.0
Commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Gardanne is a commune of 21,597 people in the Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardanne | 21,597 | — | D | D− | C− | C− |
| Simiane-Collongue | 5,780 | 2.3 | B− | D− | B | A− |
| Mimet | 4,241 | 2.4 | B | D− | A− | A− |
| Meyreuil | 6,747 | 2.5 | C+ | D− | C+ | B− |
| Bouc-Bel-Air | 15,381 | 3 | B+ | D− | B− | A |
| Gréasque | 4,554 | 3.7 | B | D− | A− | B+ |
| Fuveau | 10,337 | 4.2 | B | D− | B+ | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #65 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 58 burglaries and 207 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 48% of compared French towns and #53 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône. 98% of 482 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Marie-Madeleine Fourcade in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Gardanne grades D− for cost of living.
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 November 4, 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.