Roubaix grades D overall: better than 11% of compared French towns, and #140 of 189 in Nord. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 17.5 recorded violent incidents and 32.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,543/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
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 Roubaix 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.
La Manufacture, musée de la mémoire et de la création textile: Pierre André Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Roubaix.
Safety
Roubaix has more crime per resident than 99% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 4,819 offenses in the graded categories in Roubaix in 2025. With 38,350 jobs for 29,150 working residents, Roubaix draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
17.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,354
Theft from vehicles1,085
Other physical violence663
Family violence650
Vehicle theft366
Burglary363
Sexual violence308
Armed robbery30
Drug use1,277
Theft without violence1,138
Fraud510
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.
17.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
32.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
4,819
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Unemployment in Roubaix, 25.2%, runs above Nord’s towns and compared French towns
Roubaix sits above both Nord’s towns (13.2%) and compared French towns (10.1%) on this measure. The median disposable income is €16,080 a year per consumption unit.
35%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving61%
Public transport24%
On foot9%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
38,350
jobs based in Roubaix, 1.3 per working resident
25.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€16,080
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 98% of compared French towns
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth D
More deaths than Roubaix’s ages would predict, 108 per 100 expected, above Nord’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
On this, Roubaix is above both Nord’s towns (105) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 7,273 residents of Roubaix died, against 5,425 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 34% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
+8%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw134
Adjusted108
Median town88
Expected100
107
GPs in Roubaix · 5.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Victor Provo Roubaix
0.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Victor Provo Roubaix
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
HousingCost of living C+
The estimated advertised rent in Roubaix is €13.28/m² a month, against €11.81/m² in Nord’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €1,543/m², close to Nord’s towns (€1,810/m²) and below compared French towns (€2,430/m²). In Roubaix, houses go for €1,369/m² and apartments for €1,918/m².
€1,543/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Roubaix€1,543/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nord median€1,810/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,369/m²
1,522
Apartments
€1,918/m²
703
€13.28/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.62 to €16.59/m² a month)
4.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.48/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,430
median annual income per consumption unit, Métropole Européenne de Lille
Église Saint-Martin: Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne salle de gymnastique La Roubaisienne: Photo: VVVCFFrance · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Couvent des Clarisses et Ecole Sainte-Claire: Photo: Claudine Lebovic · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bernard Arnault: Jérémy Barande, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Georges Delerue: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Pierre Pflimlin: Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anthony Knockaert: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0 · Arnaud Desplechin: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Yvonne Furneaux: Yvonne_Furneaux.png : Cavarrone at the Italian Wikipedia project. derivative work: Cavarrone, Public domain
Roubaix’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 Roubaix
Is Roubaix safe?
It grades D− for safety, #183 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 363 burglaries and 1,354 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Roubaix good?
They grade B, better than 58% of compared French towns and #92 of 195 in Nord. 95% of 500 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Saint-Rémi in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Roubaix expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Roubaix grades C+ for cost of living.
About Roubaix
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Roubaix is a commune of 98,286 people in the Métropole Européenne de Lille. 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.
