Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 47% of the population. 6,109 people call this town in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie home.
The data are hard on it. Le Barcarès grades D− overall, behind almost every compared French town. Crime is the sore point (D−): an average of 13.6 recorded violent incidents and 44.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (B): 94% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 10% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Jobs & income is weaker too: 1 job per working resident; 22.9% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 3 things Le Barcarès does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Le Barcarès 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 →
Le Barcarès has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 20th century; the first monument here was protected in 1994.
0.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Family days out, other places to visit and museums in and near Le Barcarès. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Le Barcarès.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 5.4%. 6.8% are under 15, below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Among adults, 21% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
| Le Barcarès | Pyrénées-Orientales median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 6.8% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 5.4% | 9.4% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 12% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 47% | 28% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 21% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
Le Barcarès’s tally for 2025: 332 recorded offenses. On the Safety Grade, Le Barcarès ranks 41st of the 43 compared towns in Pyrénées-Orientales. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Le Barcarès (2025).
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.2% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €13.41/m² a month, above Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (€11.84/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. A house in Le Barcarès goes for €3,903/m², an apartment for €3,455/m². Also worth knowing: from July 2023 to June 2026, 1,665 homes were sold here.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,903/m² | 408 |
| Apartments | €3,455/m² | 1,257 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Weighed against its ages and care homes, Le Barcarès records 94 deaths per 100 expected. 824 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 875: 6% below. The nearest emergency department to Le Barcarès is Centre hospitalier Saint Jean Perpignan, 9.3 mi away. Life expectancy in Pyrénées-Orientales: 85.5 years for women and 78.9 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic.
Le Barcarès has 1,400 jobs for 1,450 working residents, 1 per worker. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €23,750 a year. Bus, tram or train carried 2.0% of working residents in Le Barcarès to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 20th century. 0.4% of homes were built before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Le Barcarès has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Le Barcarès yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Barcarès | 6,109 | — | D− | D− | D− | C |
| Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque | 9,898 | 3.1 | D | C− | C+ | C |
| Torreilles | 3,753 | 3.7 | D− | D | D | C− |
| Saint-Hippolyte | 3,126 | 3.8 | D | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Leucate Aude | 4,562 | 5.1 | D− | D | D− | D |
| Claira | 4,922 | 5.1 | D− | D | C+ | C− |
| Sainte-Marie-la-Mer | 4,952 | 5.3 | D− | D− | D | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D− for safety, #41 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 32 burglaries and 95 acts of criminal damage.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Le Barcarès grades D− for cost of living.
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Le Barcarès is a commune of 6,109 people in the Communauté urbaine Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole. 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 November 4, 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.