Avignon grades D overall: better than 12% of compared French towns, and #31 of 38 in Vaucluse. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 13.4 recorded violent incidents and 34 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 €2,367/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon (COGA).
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 Avignon 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 Avignon.
Safety
Avignon has more crime per resident than 98% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 4,035 offenses in the graded categories in Avignon in 2025. With 61,350 jobs for 31,900 working residents, Avignon draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
13.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,162
Theft from vehicles903
Other physical violence560
Burglary434
Family violence433
Vehicle theft259
Sexual violence254
Armed robbery30
Theft without violence1,771
Drug use1,362
Fraud621
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.
13.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
34
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
4,035
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
More people in Avignon are out of work than in Vaucluse’s towns or across compared French towns: 20.0%
In the comparison, Avignon comes above both Vaucluse’s towns (11.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €19,500 a year per consumption unit.
30%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving64%
Public transport12%
On foot10%
Bicycle8%
Motorbike or scooter2%
61,350
jobs based in Avignon, 1.9 per working resident
20.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€19,500
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
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
A secteur sauvegardé since 1991, and 165 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 165 historic monuments in Avignon: 54 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 111 inscrit (the second level). Avignon has 18 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Vaucluse’s towns (5.3) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1991.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living C−
Avignon gets a C− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,367/m², comes from 4,196 sales of houses and apartments in Avignon from July 2023 to June 2026. In Avignon, houses go for €2,468/m² and apartments for €2,302/m².
€2,367/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Avignon€2,367/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Vaucluse median€2,616/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,468/m²
1,122
Apartments
€2,302/m²
3,074
€12.27/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.55 to €15.77/m² a month)
7.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.52/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,360
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon (COGA)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Avignon’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 65% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 8,456 residents of Avignon died, against 8,316 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. Its eight care homes for older people (711 places) count their residents as Avignon’s; allowing for them, deaths were 6% 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.
−6%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted94
Median town88
Expected100
84
GPs in Avignon · 4.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Avignon Henri Duffaut
0.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Urbain V
85.7 · 80.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vaucluse, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Mireille Mathieu: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pierre Boulle: Gabriel Cordero Huertas ( aka Dr.Worst), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bernard Kouchner: World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0 · René Girard: Vicq, Public domain · Younès Belhanda: Antalyaspor A.Ş., CC BY 2.0 · Cédric Carrasso: Luc-Éric Manneville, CC BY 3.0
Avignon’s 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 Avignon
Is Avignon safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 434 burglaries and 1,162 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Avignon good?
They grade B, better than 63% of compared French towns and #5 of 36 in Vaucluse. The lycée stands out: 100% of 261 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Louis Pasteur in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Avignon expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.27/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Avignon grades C− for cost of living.
About Avignon
Commune in Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Avignon is a commune of 92,188 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon (COGA). 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
92,188 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon (COGA)
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.
