Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, this town has 36,758 residents.
The data are hard on it. Buying in is costly: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest subject is walkability — 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 12% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #80 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. That leaves it better than nearly a tenth of compared French towns. Police record more crime here than in most towns (D): an average of 7.2 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. Elsewhere it is close to typical: 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 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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.
The 3 things Vitrolles does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vitrolles 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 Culture ministry’s list holds 1 historic monument in Vitrolles; none is classé, France’s top protection.
1.6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vitrolles.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €3,881/m² in Vitrolles, apartments for €2,979/m². Homes sold for a median €3,474/m², lower than Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (€3,824/m²) yet higher than compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Of the homes sold, 40% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,881/m² | 414 |
| Apartments | €2,979/m² | 627 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Recorded offenses in Vitrolles came to 1,225 in 2025. With 26,650 jobs for 14,650 working residents, Vitrolles draws people in from neighbouring communes. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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 median disposable income was €24,670 a year per consumption unit, below Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (€27,430) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 2.0% of Vitrolles’ 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
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (239 places) count their residents as Vitrolles’; allowing for them, deaths were 3% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 2,804 residents of Vitrolles died, against 2,640 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% more. Average lifespans in Bouches-du-Rhône: 86 years for women, 81 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. There are 42 general practitioners locally.
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 · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
18% of residents have reached 65. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 12% of residents, above both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%). Degrees are held by 31% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bouches-du-Rhône 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Vitrolles | Bouches-du-Rhône median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| No diploma | 22% | 18% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 23% | 22% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 31% | 36% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Bouches-du-Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Vitrolles has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé). 1.6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
School results put the town #52 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône. The bac pass rate near Vitrolles is 93.7%, near both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (92.6%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Henri FabreNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 112 | 71%−2 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Pierre Mendès-FranceNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 342 | 99%+3 pts |
| Lycée professionnel Louis BlériotBest against expectations: 7 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 93 | 86%+7 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Vitrolles. Best known first.
Vitrolles has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Tour Sarrasine (vestiges): Photo: Beris · CC BY-SA 3.0
One notable person was born in Vitrolles.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitrolles | 36,758 | — | D | D− | D | C |
| Saint-Victoret | 6,730 | 1.9 | C− | D− | C− | C+ |
| Marignane | 33,692 | 2.8 | D | D | C− | C |
| Gignac-la-Nerthe | 10,343 | 3.8 | C− | D− | B− | C |
| Rognac | 12,576 | 3.8 | C | D | B− | C− |
| Les Pennes-Mirabeau | 22,537 | 4.6 | C− | D− | C− | B+ |
| Le Rove | 5,246 | 5.1 | C− | D− | C | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #74 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 62 burglaries and 456 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 49% of compared French towns and #52 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône. The lycée stands out: 99% of 342 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Pierre Mendès-France in 2025, 3 points above 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 Vitrolles grades D− for cost of living.
Commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Vitrolles is a commune of 36,758 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
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.