Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,729 people live in this town in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
Strong in places, weak in others. Its lowest grade is for jobs & income (D−): 0.4 jobs per working resident; 11.4% unemployment. Buying 70 m² at the median €1,528/m² takes 4.7 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane. Schools do well (A−): brevet results 6.7 points above the expected rate. Overall, that makes a C, good for #49 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. That leaves it better than 31% of compared French towns.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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 Vermelles does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vermelles 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 Vermelles as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancien site minier de la fosse 11-19 de la Compagnie des Mines de Lens, in Loos-en-Gohelle, 3.5 mi away.
3.4% 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 Vermelles.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Pas-de-Calais: 83.5 years for women, 77.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. Adjusted for age and care homes, Vermelles records 103 deaths per 100 expected, between Pas-de-Calais’ towns (115) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 332 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 404, 22% more.
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 · The adjustment for care homes is TownRatings’ own modeling, not an official figure.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
No general lycée lies within 5 km; the nearest is 3.5 mi away. For exam results, it comes #27 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Paul ÉluardNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 102 | 79%+3 pts |
| Collège Langevin-WallonBest against expectations: 13 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 99 | 86%+13 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 13% of residents, above Pas-de-Calais’ towns (12%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. People 65 and over make up 17% of the town. Vermelles has a median age of 38.7.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Vermelles | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 23% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 21% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
The graded crime recorded most in Vermelles was family violence (2025). 2025 saw 115 offenses recorded here. Violence against people averaged 10.7 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 13.9.
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 · For sexual violence and armed robbery, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 2.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €10.93/m² a month, about level with Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€11.26/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Estimated advertised rent for houses: €9.60/m² a month. From July 2023 to June 2026, 120 homes were sold in Vermelles.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,528/m² | 120 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €22,380 a year. 11.4% of the labour force were unemployed, between Pas-de-Calais’ towns (13.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). No commute at all: 3.1% of working residents in Vermelles at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Vermelles is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
2 notable people were born in Vermelles.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermelles | 4,729 | — | C | B− | C+ | C− |
| Mazingarbe | 8,217 | 1.5 | D | C+ | C− | D− |
| Grenay | 6,644 | 2.4 | D− | B− | D | D− |
| Auchy-les-Mines | 4,625 | 2.6 | C− | C+ | C+ | D− |
| Bully-les-Mines | 12,146 | 2.8 | D | C+ | C− | D |
| Labourse | 2,858 | 2.9 | — | B− | — | D− |
| Loos-en-Gohelle | 6,799 | 2.9 | D− | C+ | C− | D |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C+ for safety, #58 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 13 burglaries and 36 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A−, better than 80% of compared French towns and #27 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Vermelles grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Vermelles is a commune of 4,729 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
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 November 4, 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.