Boves grades A overall: better than 86% of compared French towns, and #4 of 24 in Somme. Its weakest subject is health (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 1% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €2,169/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Amiens Métropole. Its strongest is schools (A): brevet results 5 points above the expected rate.
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 Boves 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Boves records less crime per resident than 84% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 39 offenses in the graded categories in Boves in 2025. Violence against people ran at 5.1 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 9.5 (2023–2025 average). For other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary and vehicle theft, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 9.3% of the index here.
5.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage18
Family violence16
Theft from vehicles5
Armed robbery0
Drug use19
Fraud16
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.
5.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
39
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
9.3%
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
HealthHealth C−
Boves’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 76% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Boves records 99 deaths per 100 expected, below Somme’s towns (105) but above compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 237 residents of Boves died, against 241 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw99
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Boves · 5.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
4.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Sas de Cardiologies et Urgences
4.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Victor Pauchet de Butler
84 · 78.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Somme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A
Boves is better off than Somme’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €27,890 a year per consumption unit
Boves sits above both Somme’s towns (€22,835) and compared French towns (€25,970) on this measure. Unemployment stands at 9.1%. Boves has 3,600 jobs for 1,500 working residents, 2.4 per worker.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
Public transport9%
Bicycle2%
On foot1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,600
jobs based in Boves, 2.4 per working resident
9.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,890
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 72% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Boves
Is Boves safe?
It grades A− for safety, #5 of 24 in Somme.
Are schools in Boves good?
They grade A, better than 95% of compared French towns and #2 of 24 in Somme. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Boves expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,169/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.23/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Boves grades C for cost of living.
About Boves
Commune in Somme, Hauts-de-France
Boves is a commune of 3,234 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Amiens 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
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.
