A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Where it does best is safety (A+) — an average of 1.8 recorded violent incidents and 8.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. School results are strong: bac results 1.7 points above the expected rate; brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. Homes are dear: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Getting around depends on the car: 62% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 6% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade comes out at A−, #15 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. On that grade it does better than four fifths of compared French towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Ascain 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 Ascain.
Safety
Ascain sees less crime per resident than 97% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 61 offenses in Ascain in 2025. In 2025, burglary led the graded crimes here.
1.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary26
Criminal damage26
Family violence9
Armed robbery0
Fraud33
Theft without violence16
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.
1.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
61
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
11.6%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 11.6% of the index here. As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living D
Homes in Ascain cost more than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns and across compared French towns, with a median sale of €4,762/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €13.59/m² a month, close to Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (€13.04/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house in Ascain goes for €4,982/m², an apartment for €4,489/m². Houses were 60% of what sold.
€4,762/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ascain€4,762/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Atlantiques median€2,784/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,982/m²
86
Apartments
€4,489/m²
58
€13.59/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.83 to €17.06/m² a month)
12.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.16/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,570
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
More protected monuments for its size in Ascain than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques or compared French towns: 13 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Ascain is Groupe de neuf cromlechs. On the Culture ministry’s list, Ascain counts 6 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 5 inscrit at the second. Its heritage reaches back to prehistory.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Ascain has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.6 for each
Nearly a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, below Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (9.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Bus, tram or train carried 2.4% of working residents in Ascain to work at the census. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €27,410 a year per consumption unit.
6%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
Public transport2%
On foot2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle2%
1,100
jobs based in Ascain, 0.6 per working resident
8.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,410
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C
Walkability: better than 29% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are more common in Ascain than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or across compared French towns: 39% of adults
The 65-and-over age group makes up 28% of residents. Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, about level with Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (9.3%) and below compared French towns (11%). Under 15: 14% of residents.
50.1median age
AscainPyrénées-Atlantiques medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma11%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education39%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Atlantiques 52.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Atlantiques median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B
Fewer deaths than expected: Ascain is below 64% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (48 places) counts its residents as Ascain’s; allowing for it, deaths were 17% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 483 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 443, 8% fewer. In Pyrénées-Atlantiques, women can expect to live 86.4 years and men 81.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Ascain can choose among 3 GPs.
−17%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted83
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Ascain · 5.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Cote Basque Sud
11.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Cote Basque
86.4 · 81.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Pont sur la Nivelle dit Pont Romain: Photo: Mypouss · CC BY 2.0 · Église de l'Assomption: Photo: This illustration was made by Peter Potrowl . · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Redoute de Biscarzoun: Photo: Harrieta171 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Ascain
Is Ascain safe?
It grades A+ for safety, #7 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 26 burglaries and 26 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Ascain good?
They grade A, better than 90% of compared French towns and #16 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The lycée stands out: 99% of 212 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Maurice Ravel in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ascain expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Ascain grades D for cost of living.
About Ascain
Commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ascain is a commune of 4,658 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque. 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.
