Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: just over four in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 27% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Gap grades B+ overall and ranks #2 of 6 in Hautes-Alpes. That leaves it better than 68% of compared French towns. What holds it back is cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Police record more crime here than in most towns: an average of 10.1 recorded violent incidents and 15.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · 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 Gap 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.
Musée Muséum départemental des Hautes-Alpes: Photographer and original uploader was Olivier2000 at fr.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gap.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
More commuters in Gap walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Hautes-Alpes’ towns or compared French towns: 26.7%
Jobs based in Gap number 22,450, against 16,500 residents in work (1.4 per worker). Public transport took 5.3% of the town’s working residents to work at the census. Unemployment stood at 11.3%, about level with Hautes-Alpes’ towns (10.8%) and above compared French towns (10.1%).
27%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot16%
Bicycle5%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
22,450
jobs based in Gap, 1.4 per working resident
11.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,410
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 86% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
92.5% of candidates passed the brevet at the four collèges within 5 km, at the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Gap, 96.2% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with Hautes-Alpes’ towns (95.3%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). On school results, the town ranks #2 of 6 in Hautes-Alpes. At the three general lycées, 98% of 567 candidates passed the bac, 0.6 points above the expected rate.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Allowing for age and care homes, Gap sees fewer deaths than Hautes-Alpes’ towns or compared French towns: 78 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 57 general practitioners in Gap. Life expectancy at birth in Hautes-Alpes is 86.1 years for women and 80.7 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 3,893 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 4,685: 17% below.
−22%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw83
Adjusted78
Median town88
Expected100
57
GPs in Gap · 5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chi des Alpes du Sud site de Gap
0.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chi des Alpes du Sud site de Gap
86.1 · 80.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hautes-Alpes, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Gap ranks above 67% of compared French towns for crime per resident
The police record for Gap lists 971 offenses in 2025. The town comes 4th of the 6 compared towns in Hautes-Alpes on the Safety Grade. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
10.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage395
Family violence152
Other physical violence148
Sexual violence96
Burglary89
Theft from vehicles54
Vehicle theft37
Theft without violence353
Fraud251
Drug use152
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.
10.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
971
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for France
Just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over, lower than Hautes-Alpes’ towns (29%) yet higher than compared French towns (22%). Aged 15 to 24: just over one in ten residents. The age that splits Gap in two is 46.8.
46.8median age
GapHautes-Alpes medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
26%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education34%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hautes-Alpes 52.7%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Hautes-Alpes median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
6 historic monuments in Gap, 3 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 3.8%. Among the classé monuments in Gap is Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Arnoux. The oldest protected building goes back to the 17th century. The town has 1.5 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, below both Hautes-Alpes’ towns (6) and compared French towns (2.5).
Sébastien Ogier: Miloslav Rejha, CC BY 4.0 · Marie-Anne Chazel: Frantogian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gilles Grimandi: Paul & Aline . Original uploader was BanRay at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cyprien Sarrazin: Patrbe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christel Pascal: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Christophe Lafaille: Bernard Richard, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gap’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 Gap
Is Gap safe?
It grades C for safety, #4 of 6 in Hautes-Alpes. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 89 burglaries and 395 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Gap good?
They grade A−, better than 78% of compared French towns and #2 of 6 in Hautes-Alpes. 97% of 160 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Dominique Villars 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 Gap expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.36/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Gap grades C for cost of living.
About Gap
Commune in Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Gap is a commune of 41,293 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Gap-Tallard-Durance. 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.
