Béthune grades D overall: better than 13% of compared French towns, and #82 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 24.2 recorded violent incidents and 23.5 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 €1,590/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération de Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane. Its strongest is walkability (A): 92% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 25% 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 Béthune 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 Béthune.
Safety
For crime per resident, Béthune sits above 98% of compared French towns
With 16,300 jobs for 9,600 working residents, Béthune draws people in from neighbouring communes. Over 2025, Béthune logged 1,190 recorded offenses. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
24.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage408
Family violence285
Other physical violence231
Sexual violence118
Burglary86
Theft from vehicles34
Vehicle theft28
Drug use368
Theft without violence287
Fraud183
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.
24.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,190
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 · For armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Béthune, 17.9%, runs above Pas-de-Calais’ towns and compared French towns
Half of residents lived on more than €21,370 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 2.8% of working residents in Béthune didn’t travel to work at all. Bus, tram or train carried just over a tenth of working residents in Béthune to work at the census.
25%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving71%
Public transport12%
On foot10%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
16,300
jobs based in Béthune, 1.7 per working resident
17.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,370
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
Béthune’s grade for health: a D
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Pas-de-Calais: 83.5 years for women and 77.5 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Béthune come to 111 per 100 predicted. France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,181 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 2,870, 32% more.
+11%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw132
Adjusted111
Median town88
Expected100
43
GPs in Béthune · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique Anne Artois
1.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Germon et Gauthier Bethune Beuvry
83.5 · 77.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pas-de-Calais, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
16 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2000
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 3.5% of the total, close to Pas-de-Calais’ towns (4.2%) and below compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Béthune is Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt. Per 10,000 residents, Béthune counts 6.3 protected monuments. The protected list starts in the 14th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
A young town: 16% of people in Béthune are 15 to 24, more than in both Pas-de-Calais’ towns and compared French towns
Nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over, near Pas-de-Calais’ towns (20%) and lower than compared French towns (22%). Degrees are held by 30% of adults. Béthune has a median age of 39.6 years.
39.6median age
BéthunePas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
89.6% of candidates passed the brevet at the six collèges within 5 km, 2.2 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 77% passed the bac pro, of 441 candidates at 3 lycées. On results, collèges and lycées here come #58 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. At the four general lycées, 97% of 913 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
Béthune’s grade for cost of living: a C+
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,590/m²: 953 houses and apartments sold in Béthune between July 2023 and June 2026. The split locally: €1,492/m² for houses, €1,718/m² for apartments. For a house, the estimated advertised rent is €8.80/m² a month.
€1,590/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Béthune€1,590/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pas-de-Calais median€1,668/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,492/m²
587
Apartments
€1,718/m²
366
€11.52/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.26 to €14.32/m² a month)
4.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.80/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,990
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Béthune
Is Béthune safe?
It grades D− for safety, #113 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 86 burglaries and 408 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Béthune good?
They grade B, better than 60% of compared French towns and #58 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. 98% of 406 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Louis Blaringhem in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Béthune expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,590/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.52/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Béthune grades C+ for cost of living.
About Béthune
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Béthune is a commune of 25,224 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane. 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
25,224 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane
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.
