The data are hard on it. Arles-sur-Tech’s overall grade, D, puts it better than 14% of compared French towns. That places it #22 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Health is a weak point (D−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 38% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Work and incomes lag (D): 0.8 jobs per working resident; 17.3% unemployment. Its best grade is for walkability (B) — 62% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 14% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,712/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Haut Vallespir. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety and B− for schools.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Arles-sur-Tech 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 Arles-sur-Tech.
HealthHealth D−
More deaths than Arles-sur-Tech’s ages would predict, 138 per 100 expected, above Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Arles-sur-Tech is Clinique du Vallespir, 6.6 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 810 residents of Arles-sur-Tech died, against 469 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 73% more. At birth, a girl in Pyrénées-Orientales can expect 85.5 years and a boy 78.9 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. There are 2 general practitioners locally.
+38%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw173
Adjusted138
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Arles-sur-Tech · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique du Vallespir
20.8 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
Arles-sur-Tech keeps more of its old housing than Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns: 20% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from prehistory. Since 1994, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Arles-sur-Tech has 25 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (2.3) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments locally is Abbaye Sainte-Marie.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Arles-sur-Tech are 65 or over, more than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (9.4%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. Also worth knowing: among adults, 21% have a degree.
54.8median age
Arles-sur-TechPyrénées-Orientales medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Arles-sur-Tech has higher unemployment than Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns: 17.3%
The median disposable income was €21,480 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (€24,140) and compared French towns (€25,970). 4.6% of Arles-sur-Tech’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
14%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot8%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
750
jobs based in Arles-sur-Tech, 0.8 per working resident
17.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,480
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 65% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Arles-sur-Tech than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or across compared French towns: €10.07/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
139 sales of houses and apartments in Arles-sur-Tech, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,712/m². From July 2023 to June 2026, 139 homes were sold here. Among the homes sold, 81% were houses.
€1,712/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Arles-sur-Tech€1,712/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Orientales median€2,444/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,890/m²
112
€10.07/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.96 to €12.73/m² a month)
5.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€20,780
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Haut Vallespir
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Arles-sur-Tech ranks below 52% of compared French towns for crime per resident
In all, 63 offenses reached the police record in Arles-sur-Tech in 2025. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 7.1 violent offenses and 13.9 graded property crimes a year. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Arles-sur-Tech (2025).
7.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage34
Burglary12
Family violence10
Other physical violence7
Armed robbery0
Fraud22
Theft without violence20
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.
7.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
63
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
16.0%
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 sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 16.0% of the index here. That estimated share passes 10%, so treat this Safety Grade with more caution than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Abbaye Sainte-Marie d'Arles-sur-Tech and 6 more in and around Arles-sur-Tech
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Arles-sur-Tech. Best known first.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Arles-sur-Tech
Is Arles-sur-Tech safe?
It grades B− for safety, #13 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 12 burglaries and 34 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Arles-sur-Tech good?
They grade B−, better than 46% of compared French towns and #25 of 46 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Arles-sur-Tech expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,712/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Arles-sur-Tech grades C+ for cost of living.
About Arles-sur-Tech
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Arles-sur-Tech is a commune of 2,815 people in the Communauté de communes du Haut Vallespir. 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.
