Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,181 in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
Ecques has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is walkability (D−): 0% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 2% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,064/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer. Its strongest is jobs & income (B): 0.4 jobs per working resident; 6.7% unemployment.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The one thing Ecques does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ecques 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Ecques as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ascenseur à bateaux des Fontinettes, in Arques, 3.8 mi away.
Explore the history →Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Ecques. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ecques.
At the census, 1.8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment stands at 6.7%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 323 residents of Ecques died, against 231 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 40% more. Its care home for older people (80 places) counts its residents as Ecques’; allowing for it, deaths were 4% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte
On this, Ecques is above both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (18%) and compared French towns (17%). 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Ecques | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 30% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,064/m², comes from 45 sales of houses and apartments in Ecques from July 2023 to June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €10.70/m² a month, close to Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€11.26/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,064/m² | 45 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Ecques is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Ecques yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecques | 2,181 | — | — | C+ | — | C |
| Blendecques | 4,859 | 2.9 | C+ | B− | B− | D |
| Wizernes | 3,321 | 3.7 | B | B− | A | D− |
| Arques | 9,431 | 4.1 | C− | B− | C− | D− |
| Longuenesse | 10,548 | 4.6 | C− | C+ | D | D |
| Aire-sur-la-Lys | 9,598 | 5.2 | C+ | B+ | C− | D |
| Saint-Omer | 14,382 | 5.5 | C− | B− | D− | D |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Ecques has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.3 recorded violent incidents and 2.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,064/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Ecques grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Ecques is a commune of 2,181 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.