Bar-le-Duc grades B+ overall: better than 74% of compared French towns, and #3 of 9 in Meuse. Its weakest subject is safety (C−): an average of 12.6 recorded violent incidents and 16.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
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 Bar-le-Duc 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 Bar-le-Duc.
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1975, and 37 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Bar-le-Duc: 23 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 14 inscrit (the second level). Bar-le-Duc has 25 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Meuse’s towns (14) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1975.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A
The median sale price of homes in Bar-le-Duc is €1,154/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That is the middle of 461 sales of houses and apartments in Bar-le-Duc from July 2023 to June 2026, against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns and €1,211/m² for the median of compared towns in Meuse.
€1,154/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bar-le-Duc€1,154/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Meuse median€1,211/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,305/m²
278
Apartments
€1,020/m²
183
€8.81/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.46 to €12.00/m² a month)
3.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.96/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,160
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Bar-le-Duc - Sud Meuse
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
On foot, Bar-le-Duc works better than 92% of compared French towns
At the census, 28.0% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Meuse’s towns (22.5%) and compared French towns (13.4%). 16.3% of the labour force are out of work. Bar-le-Duc has 10,650 jobs for 5,500 working residents, 1.9 per worker.
28%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot17%
Public transport9%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
10,650
jobs based in Bar-le-Duc, 1.9 per working resident
16.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,480
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 92% of compared French towns
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Bar-le-Duc runs higher than in 78% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 406 offenses in the graded categories in Bar-le-Duc in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Bar-le-Duc, criminal damage came up most often (2025). 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.
12.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage163
Family violence83
Other physical violence69
Sexual violence44
Burglary26
Theft from vehicles14
Vehicle theft7
Drug use295
Theft without violence108
Fraud72
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.
12.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
406
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
HealthHealth C
Bar-le-Duc’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 73% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 2,149 residents of Bar-le-Duc died, against 1,841 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 17% more. Its four care homes for older people (333 places) count their residents as Bar-le-Duc’s; allowing for them, deaths were 3% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw117
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
13
GPs in Bar-le-Duc · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch de Bar le Duc Fains Veel site de Bar le Duc
12.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Genevieve de Gaulle Anthonioz
85.2 · 77.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Meuse, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Raymond Poincaré: Harris & Ewing, Public domain · Marie de Lorraine: Corneille de Lyon, Public domain · Nicolas-Charles Oudinot: Robert Lefèvre, Public domain · Edmond Laguerre: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Benjamin Compaoré: Citizen59, CC BY 3.0 · Jean III de Lorraine: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Bar-le-Duc’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 Bar-le-Duc
Is Bar-le-Duc safe?
It grades C− for safety, #6 of 9 in Meuse. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 26 burglaries and 163 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bar-le-Duc good?
They grade A, better than 88% of compared French towns and #1 of 10 in Meuse. 98% of 64 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Saint-Louis in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bar-le-Duc expensive to live in?
By type: houses €1,305/m² (278 sales), apartments €1,020/m² (183 sales). Estimated advertised apartment rents are €8.81/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bar-le-Duc grades A for cost of living.
About Bar-le-Duc
Commune in Meuse, Grand Est
Bar-le-Duc is a commune of 14,607 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Bar-le-Duc - Sud Meuse. 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
Population
14,607 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de Bar-le-Duc - Sud Meuse
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.
