More weak spots than strong ones. Le Boulou’s overall grade, D, puts it better than 10% of compared French towns. That places it #29 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Police record more crime here than in most towns: an average of 10.5 recorded violent incidents and 24 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It lags on jobs & income as well (D): 1.2 jobs per working resident; 15.6% unemployment. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (B+): 75% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 11% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €2,314/m² costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Vallespir.
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.
Each subject compares Le Boulou 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 Le Boulou.
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Le Boulou than in 90% of compared French towns
The commonest graded crime in Le Boulou was criminal damage (2025). Its tally for 2025: 201 recorded offenses.
10.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage75
Theft from vehicles53
Other physical violence21
Burglary20
Family violence14
Sexual violence11
Vehicle theft7
Armed robbery0
Drug use292
Fraud52
Theft without violence49
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.
10.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
201
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.0%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Le Boulou: 35% are 65 or over, above Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns and compared French towns
21% of adults hold a degree, below both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (27%) and compared French towns (30%). Under 15: 13% of residents. Aged 15 to 24: nearly one in ten residents.
54median age
Le BoulouPyrénées-Orientales medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 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 C
Le Boulou’s grade for cost of living: a C
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
297 sales of houses and apartments in Le Boulou, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,314/m². Houses sell for €2,581/m² locally, apartments for €1,918/m². Renting a house costs an estimated €10.87/m² a month.
€2,314/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Le Boulou€2,314/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Orientales median€2,444/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,581/m²
191
Apartments
€1,918/m²
106
€11.28/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.31 to €13.67/m² a month)
6.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.87/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,550
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Vallespir
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Money is tighter in Le Boulou than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €22,270 a year per consumption unit
Unemployment stood at 15.6%, higher than both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (14.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Public transport took 2.1% of Le Boulou’s working residents to work at the census.
11%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot7%
Public transport2%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,100
jobs based in Le Boulou, 1.2 per working resident
15.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,270
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 70% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
1 historic monument, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 10th century. Among the classé monuments in Le Boulou is Église Sainte-Marie. 4.4% of its homes were built before 1919, below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (5.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Le Boulou records 86 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 96 in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 810 deaths in Le Boulou from 2016 to 2025; there were 740, 9% fewer. Women in Pyrénées-Orientales live to 85.5 on average and men to 78.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. Also worth knowing: there are 9 general practitioners here.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw91
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
9
GPs in Le Boulou · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
4.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique du Vallespir
11.4 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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Le Boulou
Is Le Boulou safe?
It grades D for safety, #37 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 20 burglaries and 75 acts of criminal damage.
Is Le Boulou 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 €2,314/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.28/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Le Boulou grades C for cost of living.
About Le Boulou
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Le Boulou is a commune of 5,487 people in the Communauté de communes du 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.
