Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie has a population of 4,560.
The local economy is weaker than most (D−): 0.3 jobs per working resident; 14.5% unemployment. Taken together, its subjects give Bages a C overall, better than 32% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #14 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Homes sell for a median €2,368/m²: 70 m² comes to 6.8 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris. Safety is its strong suit (A−) — an average of 5.1 recorded violent incidents and 11.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Bages does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bages 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 Bages as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Chapelle Saint-Julien, in Villeneuve-de-la-Raho, 2.4 mi away.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bages.
2025 saw 107 offenses recorded in Bages. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes locally.
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Bages’ deaths ran at 97 per 100 expected, near Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (96) and higher than compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 457 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 444, 3% fewer. Average lifespans in Pyrénées-Orientales: 85.5 years for women, 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. This Pyrénées-Orientales town has 3 family doctors.
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 adjustment for care homes is TownRatings’ own modeling, not an official figure.
Unemployment stood at 14.5%, close to Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (14.7%) and above compared French towns (10.1%). After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,030 a year per consumption unit. No commute at all: 3.7% of working residents in Bages at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
180 sales of houses and apartments in Bages, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,368/m². House rents are put at about €10.17/m² a month. Houses made up 91% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,431/m² | 163 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
A quarter of residents are 65 or over, between Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (28%) and compared French towns (22%). Half of Bages is older than 45.9, half younger. Under 15: 17% of residents.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
| Bages | Pyrénées-Orientales median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 9.4% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 28% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 28% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage, family days out and museums in and near Bages. Best known first.
Nothing in Bages is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
4 notable people were born in Bages.
Jean-Pierre Serre: Jean-Pierre_Serre.jpg : Renate Schmid derivative work: César, CC BY-SA 2.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bages | 4,560 | — | C | C+ | A− | C |
| Villeneuve-de-la-Raho | 4,470 | 2.3 | C | D | B | A− |
| Pollestres | 5,548 | 2.7 | B− | C− | B− | B+ |
| Corneilla-del-Vercol | 2,696 | 3.4 | — | C | — | C |
| Ponteilla | 3,101 | 4 | — | C− | — | C |
| Elne | 9,511 | 4 | D | C | D | D |
| Palau-del-Vidre | 3,329 | 4.2 | C− | C | A− | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A− for safety, #7 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 8 burglaries and 39 acts of criminal damage.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,368/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Bages grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Bages is a commune of 4,560 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
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 October 30, 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.