Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 12,247: a town in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
A town with more to fix than most. Harnes’s overall grade of D− puts it better than 2% of compared French towns, #112 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Where it falls short is health — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At €1,463/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de Lens - Liévin. It is easy to get around without a car: just over nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 9% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: 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.
The 2 things Harnes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Harnes 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 Harnes as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Saint-Martin, in Hénin-Beaumont, 2.8 mi away.
3.6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Harnes.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted mortality in Harnes: 118 deaths for every 100 expected. From 2016 to 2025, 1,455 residents of Harnes died, against 1,070 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 36% more. In Pas-de-Calais, life expectancy at birth reaches 83.5 years for women and 77.5 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 11 GPs practise locally.
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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic.
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 12.2 violent offenses and 18.2 graded property crimes a year. Police and gendarmerie recorded 385 offenses in Harnes in 2025. The graded crime recorded most here was criminal damage (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Harnes is 87.0%, lower than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (90.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). On results, collèges and lycées here come #117 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Victor HugoNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 152 | 77%+1 pt |
| Lycée polyvalent Louis PasteurNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 172 | 92%−3 pts |
| Collège Pierre BrossoletteBest against expectations: 9 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 86 | 90%+9 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
The median disposable income was €21,070 a year per consumption unit, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 2.3% of Harnes’ working residents had no journey to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
303 sales of houses and apartments in Harnes, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,463/m². A house rents for an estimated €9.00/m² a month. The estimated advertised rent is €11.15/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 | €1,463/m² | 290 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
One measure of family life: 19% of residents are under 15. 11% of residents are 15 to 24, close to both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (12%) and compared French towns (11%). Ages in Harnes split evenly at 40.2: half are older, half younger.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Harnes | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 26% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 18% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Harnes. Best known first.
Nothing in Harnes is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
2 notable people were born in Harnes.
Émilienne Mopty: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harnes | 12,247 | — | D− | C+ | C− | D− |
| Annay | 4,571 | 1.3 | D | C | B− | D |
| Fouquières-lès-Lens | 6,087 | 1.5 | D | C+ | C | D− |
| Noyelles-sous-Lens | 6,854 | 1.7 | D− | C+ | C− | D− |
| Montigny-en-Gohelle | 9,743 | 1.8 | D | B− | C | D |
| Loison-sous-Lens | 5,169 | 1.9 | D− | C+ | D− | D− |
| Pont-à-Vendin | 3,062 | 2 | C− | C+ | B− | D− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #84 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 46 burglaries and 122 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C−, better than 24% of compared French towns and #117 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. 92% of 172 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Louis Pasteur in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,463/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Harnes grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Harnes is a commune of 12,247 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Lens - Liévin. 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.
