Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 8,968: a town in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Boucau’s grades pull in different directions. Buying in is costly: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools are its strong suit — bac results at the expected rate; brevet results 1.5 points above the expected rate. Overall, that makes a C, better than 33% of compared French towns. It also trails on jobs & income: 0.4 jobs per working resident; 12.2% unemployment. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The one thing Boucau does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Boucau 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 Boucau as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Château-Vieux, in Bayonne, 2.4 mi away.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2006.
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Boucau. Best known first.
MuseumMusée Bonnat-Helleu3.9 km south, in Bayonne
AttractionHermione2.3 km southwest, in Anglet
MuseumMusée basque et de l'histoire de Bayonne4 km south, in BayonneFortFortChâteau-Vieux3.8 km south, in BayonneGardenGardenJardin botanique de Bayonne3.8 km south, in BayonnePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Boucau.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses in Boucau sell for €3,985/m² and apartments for €3,780/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €14.01/m² a month, above both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (€13.04/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). House rents are put at about €14.16/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,985/m² | 125 |
| Apartments | €3,780/m² | 163 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 90% passed the bac pro, of 404 candidates at 6 lycées. For exam results, it comes #30 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. At the four general lycées, 98% of 704 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Henri BarbusseNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 81 | 88%−5 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent privé Bernat Etxepare PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 139 | 100%+3 pts |
| Collège privé Saint-Joseph PrivateBest against expectations: 11 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 40 | 100%+11 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 7 general practitioners in Boucau. 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. 921 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 879: 5% above.
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 care-home step is TownRatings’ own calculation, not an official number.
The median disposable income was €25,600 a year per consumption unit, lower than Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (€26,830) and near compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 8.4% of commuters got to work without a car.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Violence against people ran at 6.3 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 13.6 (2023–2025 average). The 2025 count: 143 offenses in Boucau. The commonest graded crime locally 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 and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.8% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Among adults, 29% have a degree. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly one in ten residents, near Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (9.3%) and lower than compared French towns (11%). Under 15: 16% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Atlantiques 52.5%, France 51.8%.
| Boucau | Pyrénées-Atlantiques median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 9.3% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 23% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 15% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 25% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 29% | 36% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Atlantiques median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Boucau is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
13 notable people were born in Boucau.
Roland Bierge: Maurjean30, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Félix Bergèze: Le Miroir des Sports, CC BY 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boucau | 8,968 | — | C | D | B | C+ |
| Tarnos Landes | 12,957 | 1.2 | B | D | B− | B+ |
| Bayonne | 54,306 | 2.4 | C+ | D | D | B |
| Anglet | 43,271 | 3 | B+ | D− | C+ | A− |
| Ondres Landes | 6,533 | 3.1 | B | D | B | A− |
| Saint-Pierre-d'Irube | 5,900 | 4.4 | B+ | D | A+ | C |
| Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx Landes | 6,238 | 4.7 | B | D | B | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B for safety, #19 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 65 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A−, better than 81% of compared French towns and #30 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The lycée stands out: 100% of 139 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent privé Bernat Etxepare in 2025, 3 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Boucau grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Boucau is a commune of 8,968 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
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 8, 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.