Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
588 people call this town in Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur home.
Vars is too small to grade: French towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents. 92% of its homes are second homes.
The 2 things Vars does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Vars as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Notre-Dame de l'Aquilon, in Guillestre, 5 mi away.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vars.
Children under 15 make up 14%, below both Hautes-Alpes’ towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). 20% of residents are 65 or over. Line up the people of Vars by age and the one in the middle is 47.7.
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hautes-Alpes 52.7%, France 51.8%.
| Vars | Hautes-Alpes median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 11% | 16% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 24% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 32% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Hautes-Alpes median and France median: the median of compared communes
Walking, cycling and public transport carried nearly a quarter of commuters at the census. Vars has 600 jobs for 350 working residents, 1.8 per worker. The median disposable income is €23,640 a year per consumption unit.
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.
House rents are put at about €9.51/m² a month. From July 2023 to June 2026, 387 homes were sold in Vars. The sales split: 5% houses, the rest apartments.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments | €3,650/m² | 367 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Vars is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Vars.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vars | 588 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Embrun | 6,412 | 9.9 | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Barcelonnette Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 2,518 | 14 | C | C | C− | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Commune in Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Vars is a commune of 588 people in the Communauté de communes du Guillestrois et du Queyras. 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) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · 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 November 4, 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.