Lens’s weakest subject is safety: an average of 23.2 recorded violent incidents and 27.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At D− overall, Lens is better than 2% of compared French towns and ranks #116 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. It lags on health as well — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 12% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €1,489/m²: 70 m² comes to 4.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de Lens - Liévin. Incomes are on the low side (D): 2 jobs per working resident; 23.0% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Lens 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 Lens.
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Lens than in 99% of compared French towns
For 2025, the figures show 1,622 offenses in Lens. Jobs outnumber working residents in Lens (21,550 to 10,600): it draws people in from around. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Lens (2025).
23.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage520
Family violence339
Other physical violence295
Sexual violence148
Burglary143
Theft from vehicles123
Vehicle theft54
Drug use575
Theft without violence354
Fraud220
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.
23.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
27.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,622
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (under 0.1% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Lens has higher unemployment than Pas-de-Calais’ towns or compared French towns: 23.0%
The median disposable income was €18,660 a year per consumption unit, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 19.8% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. At the census, 2.7% of working residents in Lens didn’t travel to work at all.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot9%
Public transport9%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
21,550
jobs based in Lens, 2 per working resident
23.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€18,660
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 93% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Lens has a higher adjusted death rate than nine in ten compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its four care homes for older people (366 places) count their residents as Lens’; allowing for them, deaths were 12% above expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,976 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 3,749, 26% 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. For a family doctor, residents of Lens can choose among 23 GPs.
+12%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw126
Adjusted112
Median town88
Expected100
23
GPs in Lens · 5.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Lens
0.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Lens
83.5 · 77.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pas-de-Calais, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
81.3% of candidates passed the brevet at the 13 collèges within 5 km, 1.5 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Lens is 87.3%, lower than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (90.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). School results put the town #119 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais.
93%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
Lens gets a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
739 sales of houses and apartments in Lens, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,489/m². In Lens, houses go for €1,381/m² and apartments for €1,620/m². A house rents for an estimated €9.20/m² a month.
€1,489/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Lens€1,489/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pas-de-Calais median€1,668/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,381/m²
467
Apartments
€1,620/m²
272
€11.93/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.67 to €14.73/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.20/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€21,190
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Lens - Liévin
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
12 historic monuments in Lens, none of them classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
1.6% of its homes were built before 1919, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (4.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. The protected list starts in the 19th century. For its size, Lens has 3.6 protected monuments per 10,000 residents.
Ancien logement des Soeurs de la cité n° 12 de la compagnie des mines de Lens dite Saint-Edouard: Photo: Jérémy Jännick · Public domain · Ecoles maternelles et primaire Louis Pasteur et ancien dispensaire de la cité n° 11 de la compagnie des mines de Lens, situés respectivement rue du Saint-Esprit, square Henri-Noguères et avenue de la Fosse 11: Photo: Jérémy Jännick · Public domain · Groupe scolaire Jean Macé, ancienne habitation du directeur des écoles et ancien patronage de la cité n° 12 de la compagnie des mines de Lens dite Saint-Edouard, situés parvis de l'église Saint-Edouard et grand chemin de Loos de part et d'autre de l'église Saint-Edouard: Photo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick · Public domain · Salle d'oeuvres paroissiales Saint-Pierre de la cité n° 11 de la compagnie des mines de Lens, située à l'angle de la rue du Saint-Esprit et de la rue du Béarn: Photo: Jérémy Jännick · Public domain
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Lens
Is Lens safe?
It grades D− for safety, #117 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 143 burglaries and 520 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Lens good?
They grade C−, better than 23% of compared French towns and #119 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. The lycée stands out: 100% of 351 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent privé Saint-Paul in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Lens expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,489/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.93/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Lens grades C+ for cost of living.
About Lens
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Lens is a commune of 32,920 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
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.
