Safety lags: an average of 21.1 recorded violent incidents and 40.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Where it does best is walkability (A−) — nearly three quarters of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 14% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €3,500/m², so 70 m² costs 10.1 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris. Overall, that makes a D−, good for #41 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. It comes out behind almost every compared French town. Health is weaker too: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 7% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
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 · 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 Argelès-sur-Mer 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 Argelès-sur-Mer.
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Argelès-sur-Mer than in 99% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Argelès-sur-Mer show 613 offenses in 2025. The town comes 41st of the 43 compared towns in Pyrénées-Orientales on the Safety Grade. It has 5,300 jobs for 3,100 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Argelès-sur-Mer (2025).
21.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage146
Theft from vehicles108
Other physical violence98
Family violence76
Vehicle theft67
Burglary60
Sexual violence58
Theft without violence326
Fraud139
Drug use77
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.
21.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
40.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
613
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.1% of the index here. 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.
Who lives here
Argelès-sur-Mer skews older, with 39% of residents 65 or over, more than Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns
Degrees are held by 24% of adults. Children under 15 make up 10%, below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 7.1% of residents.
59median age
Argelès-sur-MerPyrénées-Orientales medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
39%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living D
Argelès-sur-Mer earns a D for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €3,500/m²: 1,300 houses and apartments sold in Argelès-sur-Mer between July 2023 and June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €13.03/m² a month, higher than Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (€11.84/m²) and near compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses in Argelès-sur-Mer sell for €3,423/m² and apartments for €3,553/m².
€3,500/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Argelès-sur-Mer€3,500/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Orientales median€2,444/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,423/m²
450
Apartments
€3,553/m²
850
€13.03/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.57 to €16.04/m² a month)
10.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.54/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,310
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Mortality in Argelès-sur-Mer, once ages and care homes are allowed for, tops Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns and compared French towns: 107 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,869 residents of Argelès-sur-Mer died, against 1,646 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 14% more. The nearest emergency department to Argelès-sur-Mer is Polyclinique Medipole Saint Roch, 10.8 mi away. Women in Pyrénées-Orientales live to 85.5 on average and men to 78.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 12 GPs practise in the town.
+7%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw114
Adjusted107
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Argelès-sur-Mer · 5.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
10.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Medipole Saint Roch
10.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Mediterranee Ex Cl Notre Dame D Esperance
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pyrénées-Orientales, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
More people in Argelès-sur-Mer are out of work than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or across compared French towns: 21.1%
The census found 14.2% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Half of residents lived on more than €24,070 a year per consumption unit, near Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (€24,140) and lower than compared French towns (€25,970).
14%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot7%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport2%
5,300
jobs based in Argelès-sur-Mer, 1.7 per working resident
21.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,070
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 78% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
83.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 3 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Argelès-sur-Mer, 92.2% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with compared French towns (92.9%) and below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (94.2%). On school results, the town ranks #39 of 46 in Pyrénées-Orientales. At the general lycée, 95% of 210 candidates passed the bac, a point below the expected rate.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
7 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from prehistory. Per 10,000 residents, Argelès-sur-Mer counts 6.6 protected monuments, higher than both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (2.3) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments locally is Dolmen dit Cava de l'Alarb.
Dolmen dit Collets de Collioure: Photo: El Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chapelle Saint-Laurent-du-Mont: Photo: Palauenc05 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Saint-Alexandre-de-la-Pava: Photo: Palauenc05 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hameau du Taxo d'Avall: Photo: Palauenc05 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Argelès-sur-Mer
Is Argelès-sur-Mer safe?
It grades D− for safety, #41 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 60 burglaries and 146 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Argelès-sur-Mer good?
They grade C−, better than 23% of compared French towns and #39 of 46 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Argelès-sur-Mer expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,500/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Argelès-sur-Mer grades D for cost of living.
About Argelès-sur-Mer
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Argelès-sur-Mer is a commune of 10,616 people in the Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris. 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
10,616 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
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.
