Some subjects shine; others lag. Residents’ health trails most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. School results are strong: brevet results 4.4 points above the expected rate. At €1,714/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 78% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 12% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Overall, that makes a C+, better than 38% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #71 of 189 in Nord. Jobs & income is weaker too (D): 0.8 jobs per working resident; 13.4% unemployment.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Bourbourg 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 Bourbourg.
HealthHealth D−
Bourbourg loses more people than its age profile suggests, 118 per 100 expected, above Nord’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
7 GPs practise in Bourbourg. At birth, a girl in Nord can expect 84.5 years and a boy 78.8 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. France’s death rates at each age would predict 670 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,033, 54% more.
+18%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw154
Adjusted118
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Bourbourg · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique de Grande Synthe
10.8 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
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Money is tighter in Bourbourg than in Nord’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €22,350 a year per consumption unit
13.4% of the labour force were unemployed, about level with Nord’s towns (13.2%) and above compared French towns (10.1%). Bus, tram or train carried 2.9% of working residents in Bourbourg to work at the census. At the census, 4.0% of working residents in Bourbourg didn’t travel to work at all.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot7%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,250
jobs based in Bourbourg, 0.8 per working resident
13.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,350
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 82% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Bourbourg has 5 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Bourbourg has 7.2 protected monuments for every 10,000 residents. Among the classé monuments here is Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 18th century. Nearly a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, above Nord’s towns (6.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Crime per resident in Bourbourg is higher than in 70% of compared French towns
The police record for Bourbourg lists 179 offenses in 2025. Graded property crimes ran at 14.1 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 12 (2023–2025 average). The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
12recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage55
Family violence48
Other physical violence28
Sexual violence25
Burglary14
Theft from vehicles9
Theft without violence39
Drug use29
Fraud27
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
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
179
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.7%
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 · Small counts of armed robbery and vehicle theft go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 1.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Fewer people in Bourbourg hold a degree than in Nord’s towns or compared French towns: 19%
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Children under 15 make up 18%, about level with Nord’s towns (19%) and above compared French towns (17%). The median resident of Bourbourg is 40.4 years old.
40.4median age
BourbourgNord medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma28%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B−
Renting in Bourbourg costs less than in Nord’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €10.59/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,714/m²: 257 houses and apartments sold in Bourbourg between July 2023 and June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €8.89/m² a month. Houses were 91% of what sold.
€1,714/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bourbourg€1,714/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nord median€1,810/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,646/m²
234
€10.59/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.63 to €13.00/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.89/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,270
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bourbourg
Is Bourbourg safe?
It grades C for safety, #109 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 55 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bourbourg good?
They grade A+, better than 95% of compared French towns and #4 of 195 in Nord. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bourbourg expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,714/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bourbourg grades B− for cost of living.
About Bourbourg
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Bourbourg is a commune of 6,931 people in the Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque. 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.
