Buying in is costly (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is easy to get around without a car: 97% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 25% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Schools do well (B+): brevet results a point above the expected rate. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, ranking #19 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Set against the rest, it does better than 17% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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 Port-Vendres 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.
Place de l'Obélisque: Photo: Duch.seb · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Redoute Béar: Photo: Doronenko · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Port-Vendres.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
More people in Port-Vendres are out of work than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or across compared French towns: 22.2%
25%walk, cycle or take transit
1,300 jobs are based in Port-Vendres, for 1,200 working residents (1 per worker). Half of residents lived on more than €22,350 a year per consumption unit, below both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (€24,140) and compared French towns (€25,970). 5.3% of Port-Vendres’ working residents had no journey to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving64%
On foot17%
Motorbike or scooter5%
Public transport5%
Bicycle3%
1,300
jobs based in Port-Vendres, 1 per working resident
22.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,350
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Port-Vendres is rich in protected monuments: 20 per 10,000 residents, more than Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or compared French towns
8historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Port-Vendres counts 8 historic monuments: 3 classé at the top level of protection and 5 inscrit at the second. Since 2022, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 17th century. Among the classé monuments locally is Place de l'Obélisque.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Children make up only 11% of Port-Vendres, fewer than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns and compared French towns
56.9median age
People aged 15 to 24 make up 8% of the town, below both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (9.4%) and compared French towns (11%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 37% of residents. Port-Vendres has a median age of 56.9 years.
Port-VendresPyrénées-Orientales medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
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.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living D
Buying in Port-Vendres costs more than in Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €3,070/m²
€3,070/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Port-Vendres: €3,542/m² for houses, €2,949/m² for apartments. Houses made up just over a fifth of the homes sold; apartments the rest. Renting a house costs an estimated €11.29/m² a month.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Port-Vendres€3,070/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pyrénées-Orientales median€2,444/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,542/m²
57
Apartments
€2,949/m²
197
€12.49/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.07 to €15.49/m² a month)
8.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.29/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
Safety
Port-Vendres sees more crime per resident than three in four compared French towns
10recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Among the graded crimes in Port-Vendres, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025). 132 offenses were reported in Port-Vendres during 2025. Violence against people ran at 10 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 18.8 (2023–2025 average).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage57
Theft from vehicles37
Family violence13
Other physical violence10
Sexual violence5
Burglary5
Vehicle theft5
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence40
Fraud35
Drug use8
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
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
132
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.2%
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.
HealthHealth C
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Port-Vendres run higher than in 73% of compared French towns
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Port-Vendres come to 97 per 100 predicted. France’s death rates at each age would predict 705 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 833, 18% more. Also worth knowing: the nearest emergency department to Port-Vendres is Polyclinique Medipole Saint Roch, 14.8 mi away. Average lifespans in Pyrénées-Orientales: 85.5 years for women, 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw118
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Port-Vendres · 4.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Medipole Saint Roch
14.5 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
Charles de Rochefort: Eugene Robert Richee, Public domain · Étienne Bazeries: The original uploader was Dake at French Wikipedia ., Public domain · Gilbert Brutus: Agence Rol. Agence photographique, Public domain · Joseph Pascot: Agence Rol, Public domain
About Port-Vendres
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Port-Vendres is a commune of 4,018 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
4,018 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
Département
Pyrénées-Orientales (66)
Région
Occitanie
Area
5.6 sq mi (14.5 km²)
INSEE code
66148
Port-Vendres’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Port-Vendres
Is Port-Vendres safe?
It grades C− for safety, #29 of 43 in Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 5 burglaries and 57 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Port-Vendres good?
They grade B+, better than 72% of compared French towns and #11 of 46 in Pyrénées-Orientales. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Port-Vendres expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.49/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Port-Vendres grades D for cost of living.
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.
