Castres grades B− overall: better than 51% of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is safety (C−): an average of 11.4 recorded violent incidents and 17 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,644/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération de Castres Mazamet. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 80% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Castres 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 Castres.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Castres has higher unemployment than Tarn’s towns or compared French towns: 14.5%
That puts Castres above both Tarn’s towns (10.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Castres has 23,900 jobs for 15,650 working residents, 1.5 per worker. The median disposable income is €23,620 a year per consumption unit.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving78%
On foot7%
Public transport5%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
23,900
jobs based in Castres, 1.5 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,620
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 80% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Castres records more crime per resident than 76% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,190 offenses in the graded categories in Castres in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Castres ranks 18th of the 20 compared towns in Tarn. For armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here.
11.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage366
Burglary214
Other physical violence177
Family violence160
Theft from vehicles142
Sexual violence92
Vehicle theft39
Theft without violence354
Fraud252
Drug use192
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.
11.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,190
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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 B+
Castres’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 71% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 4,801 residents of Castres died, against 5,412 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 11% fewer. Its five care homes for older people (567 places) count their residents as Castres’; allowing for them, deaths were 20% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−20%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw89
Adjusted80
Median town88
Expected100
41
GPs in Castres · 3.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique du Sidobre
2.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Intercommunal Castres Mazamet site Pays D Autan Castres
86.5 · 81.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Tarn, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 22 historic monuments in Castres: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 15 inscrit (the second level). 11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
INSEE, census 2023 · Tarn median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B
Castres gets a B for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €10.00/m² a month, close to Tarn’s towns (€10.21/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,644/m², comes from 1,418 sales of houses and apartments in Castres from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Castres sell for €1,602/m² and apartments for €1,721/m².
€1,644/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Castres€1,644/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Tarn median€1,812/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,602/m²
996
Apartments
€1,721/m²
422
€10.00/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.89 to €12.68/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.00/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,490
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Castres Mazamet
Jean Jaurès: Nadar, Public domain · Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard: Serie Portraits Généraux Français 1792-1815. Panckoucke Paris 1818. Année: 1818, Ambroise TARDIEU Direxit (director); FORESTIER Sculpsit (printmaker)., Public domain · Joseph Vidal de la Blache: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Castres’ 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 Castres
Is Castres safe?
It grades C− for safety, #18 of 20 in Tarn. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 214 burglaries and 366 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Castres good?
They grade C+, better than 44% of compared French towns and #16 of 23 in Tarn. 96% of 80 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique privé Notre-Dame in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Castres expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,644/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Castres grades B for cost of living.
About Castres
Commune in Tarn, Occitanie
Castres is a commune of 42,505 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Castres Mazamet. 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.
