Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitanie, home to 2,761 people.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Safety is where it shines — an average of 4.9 recorded violent incidents and 8.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Taken together, its subjects give Argelès-Gazost a B+ overall, better than 73% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #6 of 12 in Hautes-Pyrénées. Housing is expensive: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools, C+ for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Argelès-Gazost does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Argelès-Gazost 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Argelès-Gazost has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 15th century; the first monument here was protected in 1995.
Wikidata records 3 people born in Argelès-Gazost before 1900, the earliest Jean Lacrampe, in 1757.
Heritage, family days out and museums in and near Argelès-Gazost. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Argelès-Gazost.
Children under 15 make up 10%, lower than both Hautes-Pyrénées’ towns (14%) and compared French towns (17%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 6.3% of residents. 30% of adults hold a degree.
56% women, 44% men
About 78 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hautes-Pyrénées 53.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Argelès-Gazost | Hautes-Pyrénées median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 14% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.3% | 9.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 41% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 18% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 30% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Hautes-Pyrénées median and France median: the median of compared communes
A fifth of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Hautes-Pyrénées’ towns (10.9%) and compared French towns (13.4%). 1,650 jobs are based in Argelès-Gazost, for 900 working residents (1.8 per worker). Unemployment runs at 11.7%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The police record for Argelès-Gazost lists 29 offenses in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Argelès-Gazost (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (12.7% of the index here). With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
No town in Hautes-Pyrénées costs more to buy into than Argelès-Gazost, at €2,493/m², the highest of 14. A house in Argelès-Gazost goes for €2,403/m², an apartment for €2,500/m². The estimated advertised rent is €11.82/m² a month, higher than Hautes-Pyrénées’ towns (€10.24/m²) and near compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,403/m² | 53 |
| Apartments | €2,500/m² | 102 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 15th century. 7% of its homes were built before 1919, above Hautes-Pyrénées’ towns (5.5%) but below compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Argelès-Gazost is Centre hospitalier Tarbes Lourdes site Lourdes, 7 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 597 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 675, 13% more. Its two care homes for older people (154 places) count their residents as Argelès-Gazost’s; allowing for them, deaths were 10% below expected. This Hautes-Pyrénées town has 6 family doctors.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Argelès-Gazost, 96.0% passed the bac, above Hautes-Pyrénées’ towns (93.2%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. On results, collèges and lycées here come #5 of 14 in Hautes-Pyrénées.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège climatique René BillèresNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 113 | 93%−1 pt |
| Lycée climatique René BillèresNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 82 | 96%−1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Argelès-Gazost has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
8 notable people were born in Argelès-Gazost.
Philippe Oyhamburu: Euskal Kultur Erakundea, CC BY-SA 2.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argelès-Gazost | 2,761 | — | B+ | C | A | C+ |
| Lourdes | 13,266 | 6.9 | C | B+ | D | C− |
| Pontacq Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 2,925 | 13 | — | A | — | B |
| Bagnères-de-Bigorre | 7,114 | 13 | C+ | B− | C− | C |
| Nay Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 3,184 | 14 | A | B+ | A− | C− |
| Juillan | 3,999 | 15 | — | B | — | B− |
| Odos | 3,265 | 15 | — | B | — | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A for safety, #4 of 12 in Hautes-Pyrénées.
They grade B, better than 55% of compared French towns and #5 of 14 in Hautes-Pyrénées. 96% of 82 candidates passed the bac at Lycée climatique René Billères 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.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Argelès-Gazost grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitanie
Argelès-Gazost is a commune of 2,761 people in the Communauté de communes Pyrénées Vallées des Gaves. 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 9, 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.