Alès grades C overall: better than 30% of compared French towns, and #33 of 60 in Gard. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 1.9 jobs per working resident; 23.0% unemployment. At the median price of €1,730/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Alès Agglomération. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 91% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 12% 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 Alès 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 Alès.
Safety
Alès records more crime per resident than 84% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,391 offenses in the graded categories in Alès in 2025. Violence against people ran at 10.6 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 20.8 (2023–2025 average). 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, under 0.1% of the index here.
10.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage543
Other physical violence255
Burglary158
Family violence136
Theft from vehicles124
Sexual violence88
Vehicle theft87
Theft without violence477
Drug use350
Fraud227
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.
10.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,391
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
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Alès’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 53% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 5,278 residents of Alès died, against 5,606 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% fewer. Its five care homes for older people (353 places) count their residents as Alès’; allowing for them, deaths were 11% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw94
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
32
GPs in Alès · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Nouvelle clinique Bonnefon Ales
1.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Ales Cevennes
85.7 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Gard, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Alès than in Gard’s towns or across compared French towns: €10.37/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In the comparison, Alès comes below both Gard’s towns (€12.19/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,730/m², comes from 1,418 sales of houses and apartments in Alès from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Alès sell for €2,069/m² and apartments for €1,444/m².
€1,730/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Alès€1,730/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Gard median€2,553/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,069/m²
652
Apartments
€1,444/m²
766
€10.37/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.27 to €13.01/m² a month)
5.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.34/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,570
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Alès Agglomération
Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste: Photo: Vpe · Public domain · Ancienne citadelle: Photo: Vpe · Public domain · Ancien collège dit casernes Thoiras: Photo: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0
Laurent Blanc: Julien Manceau, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lucile Randon: Unknown - old photograph., Public domain · Nabil El Zhar: Dylan Marriott from Andelfingen, Schweiz, CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Philippe Gatien: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Romain Dumas: David Merrett, CC BY 2.0 · Othmane Maamma: MHSC TV - Montpellier Hérault Sport Club, CC BY 3.0
Alès’ 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 Alès
Is Alès safe?
It grades C− for safety, #54 of 60 in Gard. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 158 burglaries and 543 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Alès good?
They grade B, better than 57% of compared French towns and #19 of 53 in Gard. The lycée stands out: 99% of 161 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé polyvalent de la Salle in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Alès expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,730/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Alès grades B− for cost of living.
About Alès
Commune in Gard, Occitanie
Alès is a commune of 46,125 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Alès Agglomération. 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.
