Real strengths, and real weak spots. Its weakest subject is safety (C−) — an average of 12.5 recorded violent incidents and 17.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With a C+ overall, Pau sits #32 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It comes out better than nearly two fifths of compared French towns. Fewer journeys need a car: 95% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 28% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €2,195/m²: 70 m² comes to 5.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and B− for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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 Pau 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 Pau.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Pau has higher unemployment than Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or compared French towns: 16.2%
At the census, 28.4% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (9.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Pau has 53,700 jobs for 31,000 working residents, 1.7 per worker. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €23,320 a year per consumption unit.
28%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving66%
On foot10%
Public transport10%
Bicycle8%
Motorbike or scooter2%
53,700
jobs based in Pau, 1.7 per working resident
16.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,320
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
For crime per resident, Pau sits above 82% of compared French towns
Pau’s tally for 2025: 2,528 recorded offenses. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
12.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage840
Family violence445
Other physical violence434
Sexual violence257
Burglary226
Theft from vehicles181
Vehicle theft138
Armed robbery7
Theft without violence893
Fraud693
Drug use336
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.
12.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,528
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.
Schools
91.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the 10 collèges within 5 km, at the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Pau, 93.9% of lycée candidates passed the bac, below Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (96.5%) and close to compared French towns (92.9%). Results rank its schools #36 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. At the five general lycées, 97% of 1,468 candidates passed the bac, 1.4 points below the expected rate.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
Pau earns a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €2,195/m²: 4,908 houses and apartments sold in Pau between July 2023 and June 2026. In Pau, houses go for €2,543/m² and apartments for €2,135/m². House rents are put at about €11.64/m² a month.
€2,195/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pau€2,195/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Atlantiques median€2,784/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,543/m²
705
Apartments
€2,135/m²
4,203
€12.05/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.68 to €15.00/m² a month)
5.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.64/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,980
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
16 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2007
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 12th century. Since 2007, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Among the classé monuments in Pau is Domaine du château de Pau ou château Henri IV.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Pau run lower than in 54% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 8,588 residents of Pau died, against 9,117 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% fewer. Its 12 care homes for older people (851 places) count their residents as Pau’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. This Pyrénées-Atlantiques town has 82 family doctors. Average lifespans in Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 86.4 years for women, 81.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw94
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
82
GPs in Pau · 4.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Pau Pyrenees site Navarre
1.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Pau Pyrenees site Navarre
86.4 · 81.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A young town: 17% of people in Pau are 15 to 24, more than in Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns or compared French towns
Graduates make up nearly two in five adults. 13% are under 15, below Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Ages in Pau split evenly at 40.7: half are older, half younger.
40.7median age
PauPyrénées-Atlantiques medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education39%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Atlantiques 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Domaine du château de Pau ou château Henri IV: Photo: Capbourrut · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maison natale de Charles Bernadotte: Photo: Florent Pécassou · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien Hôtel de Peyré ou maison dite de Sully: Photo: Père Igor · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien Hôtel de Gassion, actuellement cercle de jeux: Photo: Père Igor · CC BY-SA 3.0
Charles XIV Jean de Suède: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Michel Sogny: Sébastien Randé, photographe, http://www.studiocuicui.fr/, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jérémy Chardy: Carine06, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tony Estanguet: The original uploader was Pavel.rycl at English Wikipedia ., CC BY 3.0 · Marguerite Broquedis: Agence Rol, Public domain · André Courrèges: Vincent Knapp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pau’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 Pau
Is Pau safe?
It grades C− for safety, #32 of 35 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 226 burglaries and 840 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pau good?
They grade B, better than 62% of compared French towns and #36 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. 95% of 394 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Saint-Cricq in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pau expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,195/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.05/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Pau grades C+ for cost of living.
About Pau
Commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Pau is a commune of 80,441 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées. 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.
