Orthez’s strongest subject is schools (A): bac results at the expected rate; brevet results 2.8 points above the expected rate. The town grades B+ overall, better than 73% of compared French towns, and ranks #22 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. At the median price of €1,788/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety, B− for health and B for walkability.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, 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) · 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.
Each subject compares Orthez 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.
Église Saint-Pierre: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0 · Vestiges du château Moncade: Photo: [ https://www.flickr.com/photos/10699036@n08 Position de l'objet 43° 29′ 31,15″ N, 0° 46′ 11,91″ O Voir cet endroit et d’autres images sur : OpenStreetMap 43.491987; -0.769974 10699036@N08] at https://www.flickr.com . · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Vieux Pont: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0 · Maison dite de Jeanne d'Albret: Photo: JacquesLavignotte · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Orthez.
Schools
Brevet results near Orthez run high: 97.0% passed, above Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns and compared French towns
98%passed the bac (general and technological)ASchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 92% passed the bac pro, of 123 candidates at 2 lycées. 95.8% of candidates passed the bac at the lycées within 5 km of Orthez, close to Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (96.5%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). Results rank its schools #19 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
10 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2005
10historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 13th century. Since 2005, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Orthez has 9.2 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (3.9) and compared French towns (2.5) alike. Among the classé monuments in the town is Église Saint-Pierre.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Orthez than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or compared French towns: 13% are under 15
50.7median age
Degrees are held by 27% of adults, below Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (36%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. 30% of residents are 65 or over. The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents.
OrthezPyrénées-Atlantiques medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Atlantiques 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Atlantiques median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
More people in Orthez are out of work than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or across compared French towns: 13.0%
14%walk, cycle or take transit
The median disposable income was €24,680 a year per consumption unit, below both Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (€26,830) and compared French towns (€25,970). Public transport took 3.7% of Orthez’s working residents to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot8%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
6,200
jobs based in Orthez, 1.5 per working resident
13.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,680
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 63% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B
Renting in Orthez costs less than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €11.52/m² a month
€1,788/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,788/m²: 509 houses and apartments sold in Orthez between July 2023 and June 2026. Apartments in Orthez sell for €1,722/m², houses for €1,853/m². Of the homes sold, 55% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Orthez€1,788/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Atlantiques median€2,784/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,853/m²
282
Apartments
€1,722/m²
227
€11.52/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.13 to €14.55/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.72/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,530
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
More crime per resident in Orthez than in 55% of compared French towns
9.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
Violence against people averaged 9.5 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 13. Recorded offenses in Orthez came to 257 in 2025. This Pyrénées-Atlantiques town has 6,200 jobs for 4,050 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. The commonest graded crime in the town was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage100
Sexual violence43
Other physical violence41
Family violence28
Burglary25
Vehicle theft11
Theft from vehicles9
Armed robbery0
Fraud70
Theft without violence55
Drug use38
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.
9.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
257
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 · 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.
HealthHealth B−
Fewer deaths than expected: Orthez is below 54% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,635 deaths in Orthez from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,580, 3% fewer. Its four care homes for older people (212 places) count their residents as Orthez’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. Life expectancy at birth in Pyrénées-Atlantiques is 86.4 years for women and 81.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Orthez can choose among 11 GPs.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw97
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
11
GPs in Orthez · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Orthez
16.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Saint Palais
86.4 · 81.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Alain Ducasse: Bruno Cordioli for CIBVS, CC BY 2.0 · Gaston Planté: Chevallier, Public domain · Gaston III de Foix-Béarn: Gaston Phébus (1331-1391), Public domain · Francis Planté: Studio Paul Berger, Paris, Public domain · Onésime Reclus: Nadar, Public domain · Paul Reclus: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
About Orthez
Commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Orthez is a commune of 10,881 people in the Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez. 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
Population
10,881 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez
Département
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)
Région
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Area
17.9 sq mi (46.4 km²)
INSEE code
64430
Orthez’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 Orthez
Is Orthez safe?
It grades B− for safety, #22 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 25 burglaries and 100 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Orthez good?
They grade A, better than 87% of compared French towns and #19 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. 98% of 192 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Gaston Fébus in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Orthez expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,788/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Orthez grades B for cost of living.
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.
