Strong in places, weak in others. Cost of living is its weak spot: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Crime runs high: an average of 9.3 recorded violent incidents and 24.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 95% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 24% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at C+, better than 38% of compared French towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Bayonne 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 Bayonne.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Getting about on foot is easier in Bayonne than in 94% of compared French towns
Just over a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, higher than both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (9.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Per resident in work, Bayonne counts 1.5 jobs (36,350 jobs, 24,650 workers). Bus, tram or train carried 10.3% of working residents in Bayonne to work at the census.
24%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
Public transport10%
On foot8%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter4%
36,350
jobs based in Bayonne, 1.5 per working resident
11.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,810
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living D
A home in Bayonne sells for €4,066/m², more than in both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns and compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €13.79/m² a month, above Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (€13.04/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. In Bayonne, houses go for €4,551/m² and apartments for €4,030/m². Also worth knowing: between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 2,423 homes in the town.
€4,066/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bayonne€4,066/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Atlantiques median€2,784/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,551/m²
245
Apartments
€4,030/m²
2,178
€13.79/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.05 to €17.21/m² a month)
10.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.73/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,570
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Bayonne sees more crime per resident than 89% of compared French towns
No compared town in Pyrénées-Atlantiques has more graded crime per resident than Bayonne: it ranks last of 35. The police record for Bayonne lists 1,797 offenses in 2025. The graded crime recorded most in the town was criminal damage (2025).
9.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage767
Theft from vehicles286
Other physical violence271
Family violence144
Vehicle theft134
Burglary101
Sexual violence94
Theft without violence1,513
Fraud414
Drug use253
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.
9.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,797
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · For 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
94.4% of candidates passed the brevet at the 11 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 Bayonne is 96.6%, about level with Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (96.5%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). Vocational results within 5 km: 89% passed the bac pro, of 426 candidates at 6 lycées. Ranked by results, schools here are #23 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
99%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1975, and 25 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, above Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (5.9%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. Since 1975, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. 14 of the 25 are houses and mansions. Among the classé monuments in Bayonne is Cathédrale Notre-Dame.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Adjusted for age and care homes, Bayonne sees fewer deaths than 58% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 5,196 residents of Bayonne died, against 5,462 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% fewer. Its eight care homes for older people (626 places) count their residents as Bayonne’s; allowing for them, deaths were 15% below expected. There are 94 general practitioners in the town. At birth, a girl in Pyrénées-Atlantiques can expect 86.4 years and a boy 81.3 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw95
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
94
GPs in Bayonne · 6.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Cote Basque
0.9 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
A young town: 13% of people in Bayonne are 15 to 24, more than in both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns and compared French towns
The 65-and-over age group makes up just over a fifth of residents. Two in five adults hold a degree, higher than both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (36%) and compared French towns (30%). Ages in Bayonne split evenly at 41.8: half are older, half younger.
41.8median age
BayonnePyrénées-Atlantiques medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma15%
CAP or BEP22%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education40%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Atlantiques 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame: Photo: Pinpin 11:01, 12 November 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château-Vieux: Photo: Daniel Villafruela · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison dite de Dagourette ou Musée Basque: Photo: Harrieta171 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fontaine Saint-Léon: Photo: Daniel VILLAFRUELA . · CC BY-SA 4.0
Frédéric Bastiat: Émile Desmaisons. Lithograph by Auguste-Hilaire Léveillé., Public domain · René Cassin: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Léon Bonnat: Léon Bonnat, Public domain · Stéphane Ruffier: KevFB, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jacques Laffitte: Unidentified painter, Public domain · Michel Camdessus: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bayonne’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bayonne
Is Bayonne safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 101 burglaries and 767 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bayonne good?
They grade A−, better than 83% of compared French towns and #23 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. 96% of 270 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Louis de Foix in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bayonne expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Bayonne grades D for cost of living.
About Bayonne
Commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bayonne is a commune of 54,306 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.
