Nîmes grades D overall: better than 11% of compared French towns, and #51 of 60 in Gard. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 11.3 recorded violent incidents and 20.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €2,312/m², a 70 m² home costs 7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération de Nîmes Métropole. Its strongest is walkability (A): 88% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 28% 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 Nîmes 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 Nîmes.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Nîmes has higher unemployment than Gard’s towns or compared French towns: 18.0%
For Nîmes, that is above both Gard’s towns (11.9%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Nîmes has 84,300 jobs for 53,300 working residents, 1.6 per worker. At the census, 27.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
28%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving65%
On foot12%
Public transport10%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter2%
84,300
jobs based in Nîmes, 1.6 per working resident
18.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,830
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 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Nîmes records more crime per resident than 86% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 4,731 offenses in the graded categories in Nîmes in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Nîmes, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
11.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,382
Other physical violence747
Burglary705
Family violence605
Theft from vehicles534
Vehicle theft407
Sexual violence307
Armed robbery44
Theft without violence2,127
Drug use1,078
Fraud1,036
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.
11.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
4,731
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
HousingCost of living C−
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Nîmes than in Gard’s towns or across compared French towns: €14.64/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Nîmes sits above both Gard’s towns (€12.19/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) on this measure. The median price, €2,312/m², comes from 6,392 sales of houses and apartments in Nîmes from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Nîmes sell for €2,833/m² and apartments for €2,130/m².
€2,312/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Nîmes€2,312/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Gard median€2,553/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,833/m²
1,678
Apartments
€2,130/m²
4,714
€14.64/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.55 to €18.56/m² a month)
7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.12/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,170
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Nîmes Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1985, and 96 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 96 historic monuments in Nîmes: 18 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 78 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1985. Nîmes has 6.3 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Gard’s towns (3) and compared French towns (2.5).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Nîmes’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 63% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 15,294 residents of Nîmes died, against 14,859 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 3% more. Its 20 care homes for older people (1,569 places) count their residents as Nîmes’; allowing for them, deaths were 7% 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.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw103
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
159
GPs in Nîmes · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Grand Sud Nimes
1.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Grand Sud Nimes
85.7 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Gard, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Menhir de Courbessac: Photo: Gérard JOYON · CC BY 3.0 · Tour Magne: Photo: Culturespaces/C.Recoura · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château d'eau romain ou Castellum Divisorium: Photo: Przemysław Sakrajda · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jardin de la Fontaine: Photo: Przemysław Sakrajda · CC BY-SA 3.0
Alphonse Daudet: Étienne Carjat, Public domain · François Guizot: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Bernadette Lafont: Frantogian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Loïc Wacquant: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, CC BY 4.0 · Henry Bataille: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · André Chamson: Walter Mori ( Mondadori Publishers ), Public domain
Nîmes’ 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 Nîmes
Is Nîmes safe?
It grades D for safety, #56 of 60 in Gard. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 705 burglaries and 1,382 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Nîmes good?
They grade B−, better than 50% of compared French towns and #24 of 53 in Gard. 96% of 449 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Alphonse Daudet in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Nîmes expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,312/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Nîmes grades C− for cost of living.
About Nîmes
Commune in Gard, Occitanie
Nîmes is a commune of 151,839 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Nîmes Métropole. 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.
