Where it falls short is safety (C−): an average of 14.3 recorded violent incidents and 17.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Incomes are on the low side: 2.5 jobs per working resident; 13.8% unemployment. Prices are modest for what you get: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also does well on walkability: 78% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at B−, #21 of 26 in Charente. Set against the rest, it does better than 46% of compared French towns.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire 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.
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Château de Barbezieux · Classé · Photo: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire’s story
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 11th century; the first monument here was protected in 1913.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1995.
19% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
1913First protected: Château de Barbezieux
1995The protected historic area is created
2013Most recently protected: Église de Saint-Hilaire
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire.
Safety
For crime per resident, Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire sits above 84% of compared French towns
The 2025 count: 154 offenses in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire. With 4,200 jobs for 1,650 working residents, Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire draws people in from neighbouring communes. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire (2025).
14.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage48
Family violence34
Burglary30
Other physical violence22
Sexual violence10
Theft from vehicles10
Armed robbery0
Fraud47
Theft without violence43
Drug use22
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.
14.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
154
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.9%
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 · When vehicle theft number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.9% 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.
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire are 65 or over, more than in both Charente’s towns and compared French towns
Just over a fifth of adults hold a degree, below both Charente’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (30%). One measure of family life: 13% of residents are under 15. The middle age in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire is 52.1.
52.1median age
Barbezieux-Saint-HilaireCharente medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire has higher unemployment than Charente’s towns or compared French towns: 13.8%
The median disposable income was €21,890 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Charente’s towns (€24,645) and compared French towns (€25,970). 14.6% of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot11%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
4,200
jobs based in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, 2.5 per working resident
13.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,890
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 78% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B+
Homes in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire cost less than in both Charente’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,317/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €10.16/m² a month, below both Charente’s towns (€10.82/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A home here costs 3.8 years of the median income in Communauté de communes des 4B Sud Charente. Houses made up 96% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
€1,317/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire€1,317/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente median€1,635/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,317/m²
129
€10.16/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.03 to €12.85/m² a month)
3.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.75/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,040
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des 4B Sud Charente
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Fewer deaths than expected in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, 93 per 100, but more than in both Charente’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
9 GPs practise in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire. Life expectancy in Charente: 85.7 years for women and 79 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 922 residents of Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire died, against 823 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 12% more.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw112
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
9
GPs in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire · 3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Hopitaux Sud Charente
16.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopitaux du Grand Cognac
85.7 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
83.7% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 2.6 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, 98.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, higher than both Charente’s towns (93.6%) and compared French towns (92.9%). For exam results, it comes #10 of 23 in Charente.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire keeps more of its old housing than Charente’s towns or compared French towns: 19% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level). Since 1995, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 11th century. Among the classé monuments here is Château de Barbezieux.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level).
Philippe Besson: Siren-Com, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ernest Labrousse: Aliesco, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Geneviève Fauconnier: Rvdb, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Georges Boutelleau: inconnu, Public domain · Jaap de Boer: Jaapdeboer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire’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 Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire
Is Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire safe?
It grades C− for safety, #21 of 26 in Charente. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 30 burglaries and 48 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire good?
They grade B, better than 62% of compared French towns and #10 of 23 in Charente. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire grades B+ for cost of living.
About Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire is a commune of 4,726 people in the Communauté de communes des 4B Sud Charente. 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.
