The picture is mixed. Its weakest subject is safety: an average of 12.4 recorded violent incidents and 43.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It also trails on cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Fewer journeys need a car (A+): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 59% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Health outcomes beat most towns (B+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, ranking #71 of 100 in Gironde. That leaves it better than 28% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Bordeaux 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 Bordeaux.
Safety
Bordeaux sees more crime per resident than 99% of compared French towns
Theft from vehicles topped the graded crimes in Bordeaux (2025). In all, 14,760 offenses reached the police record here in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Bordeaux ranks 98th of the 100 compared towns in Gironde. With 211,500 jobs for 128,000 working residents, Bordeaux draws people in from neighbouring communes.
12.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Theft from vehicles5,612
Criminal damage3,946
Other physical violence1,364
Burglary1,159
Family violence1,009
Vehicle theft842
Sexual violence760
Armed robbery68
Theft without violence10,468
Fraud2,442
Drug use1,809
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.
12.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
43.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14,760
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 · 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Bordeaux gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than in Gironde’s towns and across compared French towns: 58.6% of commuters
Unemployment stood at 11.8%, above both Gironde’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%). 5.0% of Bordeaux’s working residents had no journey to work at the census. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €27,590 a year.
59%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving34%
Public transport28%
Bicycle19%
On foot11%
Motorbike or scooter2%
211,500
jobs based in Bordeaux, 1.7 per working resident
11.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,590
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 almost every compared French town
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living D−
Buying in Bordeaux costs more than in Gironde’s towns and across compared French towns: the median sale is €4,325/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Bordeaux: €4,938/m² for houses, €4,192/m² for apartments. Advertised rents are estimated at €15.99/m² a month, above both Gironde’s towns (€13.75/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 23% were houses.
€4,325/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bordeaux€4,325/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Gironde median€3,176/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,938/m²
2,876
Apartments
€4,192/m²
9,549
€15.99/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€12.27 to €20.84/m² a month)
11.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.51/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,270
median annual income per consumption unit, Bordeaux Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Bordeaux keeps more of its old housing than Gironde’s towns or compared French towns: 23% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Bordeaux has 14 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Gironde’s towns (1.5) and compared French towns (2.5). A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 1967. On the Culture ministry’s list, Bordeaux counts 385 historic monuments: 73 classé at the top level of protection and 311 inscrit at the second. Among the classé monuments here is Église Saint-Rémi.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Bordeaux: 20% are 15 to 24, above Gironde’s towns and compared French towns
Those 65 and older account for 15% of residents. 13% are under 15, lower than both Gironde’s towns (18%) and compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by 58% of adults.
33.9median age
BordeauxGironde medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
20%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma11%
CAP or BEP11%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education58%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Gironde median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B+
Adjusted for age and care homes, Bordeaux sees fewer deaths than 70% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Bordeaux can choose among 452 GPs. After the care-home adjustment, the town’s deaths ran at 81 per 100 expected, near Gironde’s towns (84) and lower than compared French towns (88). 18,819 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 19,970: 6% below. Life expectancy in Gironde: 86.4 years for women and 81.3 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw94
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
452
GPs in Bordeaux · 6.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Andre Chu
1.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Bordeaux Nord Aquitaine
86.4 · 81.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Gironde, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
92.9% of candidates passed the brevet at the 33 collèges within 5 km, 0.8 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 86% passed the bac pro, of 1,373 candidates at 15 lycées. Its collèges and lycées rank #46 of 93 in Gironde on results.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
François Mauriac: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Jean Anouilh: fr:Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Joseph Black: James Heath (engraver) after Henry Raeburn, Public domain · Odilon Redon: Guy et Mockel (Pierre Mockel), Public domain · Rosa Bonheur: Eugène Disdéri, Public domain · René Clément: Studio Harcourt., Public domain
Bordeaux’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 Bordeaux
Is Bordeaux safe?
It grades D− for safety, #98 of 100 in Gironde. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 1,159 burglaries and 3,946 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bordeaux good?
They grade B−, better than 47% of compared French towns and #46 of 93 in Gironde. The lycée stands out: 100% of 44 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé Notre-Dame in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bordeaux expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bordeaux grades D− for cost of living.
About Bordeaux
Commune in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bordeaux is a commune of 267,991 people in the Bordeaux 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.
