Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 100 people, lies in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Barges has no grades yet: French towns are graded from 1,000 residents up. 45% of homes here are second homes. It skews older: 40% of residents are 65 or over.
The 2 things Barges does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Barges as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Saint-Paul, in Saint-Paul-de-Tartas, 2.4 mi away.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Barges.
Degrees are held by 21% of adults. People 65 and over make up 40% of the town, higher than both Haute-Loire’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%). Children are a tenth of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Barges | Haute-Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.7% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 5.4% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 40% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 15% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 21% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
3.4% of Barges’ working residents had no journey to work at the census. Unemployment stood at 9.7%, close to both Haute-Loire’s towns (10.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Sales in Barges from July 2023 to June 2026: 3 houses and apartments. House rents are put at about €6.48/m² a month.
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Barges is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Barges yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barges | 100 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Langogne Lozère | 2,836 | 7.9 | A− | A | C+ | C+ |
| Coubon | 3,140 | 12 | — | A− | — | C+ |
| Vals-près-le-Puy | 3,395 | 13 | A+ | A− | A | A− |
| Le Puy-en-Velay | 18,540 | 14 | B | A− | D | C |
| Saint-Germain-Laprade | 3,432 | 14 | — | B+ | — | B |
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel | 3,585 | 15 | A+ | A− | B+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Barges is a commune of 100 people in the Communauté de communes des Pays de Cayres et de Pradelles. 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) · 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 October 30, 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.