Bergues grades B overall: better than 56% of compared French towns, and #36 of 189 in Nord. Its weakest subject is health (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 13% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €2,153/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes des Hauts de Flandre. Its strongest is schools (A+): brevet results 10.4 points above the expected rate.
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 Bergues 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
More protected monuments for its size in Bergues than in Nord or compared French towns: 28 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Bergues counts 10 historic monuments: 4 classé at the top level of protection and 6 inscrit at the second. Among the classé monuments here is Citerne militaire. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 15th century. 18% of homes were built before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C
For walkability, Bergues ranks above 94% of compared French towns
Unemployment stood at 12.4%, lower than Nord’s towns (13.2%) yet higher than compared French towns (10.1%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 18.5% of commuters travelled at the census. Jobs located in Bergues: 1,550, for 1,400 residents in work (1.1 each).
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot11%
Public transport4%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,550
jobs based in Bergues, 1.1 per working resident
12.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,240
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Allowing for age and care homes, Bergues sees more deaths than Nord’s towns or compared French towns: 113 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
4 GPs practise in Bergues. In Nord, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.5 years for women and 78.8 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 913 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 563: 62% above.
+13%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw162
Adjusted113
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Bergues · 3.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Dunkerque
5.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Dunkerque
84.5 · 78.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Nord, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Bergues skews older, with 30% of residents 65 or over, more than Nord’s towns or compared French towns
The share aged 15 to 24 is 10%. 14% are under 15, lower than both Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%). Bergues has a median age of 49.6.
49.6median age
BerguesNord medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma28%
CAP or BEP22%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Bergues than in Nord’s towns or across compared French towns: €13.66/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
114 sales of houses and apartments in Bergues, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,153/m². Houses accounted for 79% of sales, apartments for the rest.
€2,153/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bergues€2,153/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nord median€1,810/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,123/m²
90
€13.66/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.90 to €17.11/m² a month)
5.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.49/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,130
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Hauts de Flandre
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Less crime per resident in Bergues than in 55% of compared French towns
In 2025, 52 offenses were recorded in Bergues. Graded property crimes ran at 12.8 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 7.6 (2023–2025 average). More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
7.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearBSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage25
Family violence15
Other physical violence12
Drug use40
Theft without violence26
Fraud16
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.
7.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
52
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
11.8%
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 · When sexual violence, armed robbery, 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 (11.8% of the index here). Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Ancien Mont de Piété: Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Martin: Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Enceinte fortifiée: Photo: Romainberth · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne abbaye Saint-Winoc: Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 4.0
Charles Pacôme: Le Miroir des sports, Public domain · Christophe Looten: Wagner-r, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Émile-Louis-Cornil Lobbedey: Agence Rol, Public domain
Bergues’ 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 Bergues
Is Bergues safe?
It grades B for safety, #63 of 189 in Nord.
Are schools in Bergues good?
They grade A+, better than 100% of compared French towns and #1 of 195 in Nord. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bergues expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,153/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bergues grades C for cost of living.
About Bergues
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Bergues is a commune of 3,525 people in the Communauté de communes des Hauts de Flandre. 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.
