Bitche grades A− overall: better than 82% of compared French towns, and #8 of 68 in Moselle. Its weakest subject is health (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its strongest is walkability (A): 70% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 30% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Bitche 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 Bitche.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
30.4% of commuters in Bitche go to work without a car, more than in Moselle’s towns and across compared French towns
Bitche holds 3,250 jobs; 2,100 of its residents are in work, so 1.5 jobs each. Households’ median disposable income: €22,630 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 12.1%, about level with Moselle’s towns (12.3%) and above compared French towns (10.1%).
30%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving62%
On foot23%
Public transport5%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter0%
3,250
jobs based in Bitche, 1.5 per working resident
12.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,630
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 89% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Bitche than in Moselle’s towns or across compared French towns: €9.81/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Renting a house costs an estimated €9.18/m² a month. France’s property-sale records don’t cover Alsace and Moselle, which keep their own land register, so the Cost Grade here uses rent alone.
€9.81/m²estimated apartment rent a month
Estimated advertised apartment rent per m² a month
Bitche€9.81/m²
Median of towns€12.41/m²
Moselle median€12.17/m²
€9.81/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.76 to €12.40/m² a month)
€9.18/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,020
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays de Bitche
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Bitche has a higher adjusted death rate than 83% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Weighed against its ages and care homes, Bitche records 103 deaths per 100 expected. 648 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 514: 26% above. In Moselle, life expectancy at birth reaches 83.6 years for women and 79.1 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. For a family doctor, residents of Bitche can choose among 5 GPs.
+3%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw126
Adjusted103
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Bitche · 2.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital St Joseph Bitche Ch Robert Pax
15.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Robert Pax de Sarreguemines
83.6 · 79.1
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Moselle, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Bitche sees less crime per resident than 75% of compared French towns
In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in Bitche. The police record for Bitche lists 70 offenses in 2025. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 8.3 violent offenses and 8 graded property crimes a year.
8.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage28
Other physical violence18
Family violence12
Sexual violence12
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence25
Fraud23
Drug use12
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.
8.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
70
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
6.0%
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 burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 6.0% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
86.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 3 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Bitche, 97.3% passed the bac, above Moselle’s towns (90.9%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. Collège pupils travel 0.7 mi to the nearest one. On school results, the town ranks #11 of 78 in Moselle.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)B+School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Bitche has 3 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 8.4% of the total, higher than both Moselle’s towns (5.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Bitche is Citadelle (ancienne). The protected list starts in the 17th century. The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in the town: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
A young town: 17% of people in Bitche are 15 to 24, more than in Moselle’s towns and across compared French towns
Children under 15 count for 14% of the people here. Degrees are held by a fifth of adults, below Moselle’s towns (24%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. The age that splits Bitche in two is 41.
41median age
BitcheMoselle medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat24%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 81 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Jean-René Ier de Hanau-Lichtenberg: Soutekh67, Public domain · Marc-Marie de Bombelles: Édouard Pingret, Public domain · Antonin Daum: Jean Daum, Public domain · Michel Bizot: Olivia, Public domain
Bitche’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 Bitche
Is Bitche safe?
It grades A− for safety, #22 of 68 in Moselle.
Are schools in Bitche good?
They grade B+, better than 67% of compared French towns and #11 of 78 in Moselle. The lycée stands out: 98% of 133 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Louis Casimir Teyssier in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
About Bitche
Commune in Moselle, Grand Est
Bitche is a commune of 4,966 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Bitche. 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.
