Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,498 people, this town lies in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie.
Fewer journeys need a car (A−): 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 16% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €1,494/m² costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Conflent-Canigó. Work and incomes lag (D): 1 job per working resident; 21.0% unemployment. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 1% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Vernet-les-Bains has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 3 things Vernet-les-Bains does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vernet-les-Bains 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.
Vernet-les-Bains has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Vernet-les-Bains has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 19th century; the first monument here was protected in 2017.
Explore the history →Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Vernet-les-Bains. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vernet-les-Bains.
Aged 15 to 24: 5.7% of residents. Children under 15 make up 10%, lower than both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). Half the people of Vernet-les-Bains are older than 63.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Vernet-les-Bains | Pyrénées-Orientales median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 5.7% | 9.4% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 47% | 28% | 22% |
| No diploma | 15% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 30% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
Vernet-les-Bains has 400 jobs for 350 working residents, 1 per worker. After tax and benefits, the median income is €22,270 a year per consumption unit. 15.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (9.2%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 293 deaths in Vernet-les-Bains from 2016 to 2025; there were 360, 23% more. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Vernet-les-Bains come to 99 per 100 predicted. Also worth knowing: in Pyrénées-Orientales, women can expect to live 85.5 years and men 78.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. This Pyrénées-Orientales town has one family doctor.
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 · That adjustment for care homes is a model of TownRatings’ own, not official data.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 19th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 8.9% of the total, above both Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (5.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,494/m²: 202 houses and apartments sold in Vernet-les-Bains between July 2023 and June 2026. A house in Vernet-les-Bains goes for €1,939/m², an apartment for €1,348/m². Among the homes sold, 40% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,939/m² | 81 |
| Apartments | €1,348/m² | 121 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Vernet-les-Bains has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Vernet-les-Bains as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernet-les-Bains | 1,498 | — | — | B− | — | C− |
| Prades | 6,148 | 5.1 | B− | C+ | C | C |
| Arles-sur-Tech | 2,815 | 14 | D | C+ | B− | D− |
| Ille-sur-Têt | 5,556 | 15 | B− | B− | B | D |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda | 3,529 | 15 | D | C+ | D | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Vernet-les-Bains has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.4 recorded violent incidents and 16.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,494/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Vernet-les-Bains grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Vernet-les-Bains is a commune of 1,498 people in the Communauté de communes Conflent-Canigó. 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 9, 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.