Press kit · department 11

Aude.

Every town in the department ranked on each criterion, ready to be reused. Each town is compared with French towns of the same size tier — a market town is never measured against a major city. Free to reuse, including commercially, on the sole condition that you credit La Grande Carte with a link to this page.

8 rankings 10 towns ranked Public data · Licence Ouverte (Etalab)

Cite this page

La Grande Carte, “Press kit — Aude (11)”, https://lagrandecarte.fr/en/presse/aude-11 (accessed 29 September 2026).

<a href="https://lagrandecarte.fr/en/presse/aude-11">Aude press kit — La Grande Carte</a>

01.

Safest cities.

Low crime, rare assaults, few burglaries, downward trend — data from the French Ministry of Interior

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	1 / 8	201 / 1747
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	2 / 8	940 / 1747
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	3 / 8	1283 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	4 / 8	1492 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	5 / 8	1613 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	1 / 2	439 / 470
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	6 / 8	1633 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	7 / 8	1663 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	2 / 2	449 / 470
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	8 / 8	1674 / 1747

Both tables are sorted by national rank within the size tier, the only measure that is comparable between a small town and a large city. The department rank is read within the same tier: a town that is the only one of its size in the department is therefore automatically ranked 1 of 1.

Full national ranking: Safest cities.

02.

Best environmental quality.

Compliant drinking water, far from nuclear plants, low radon, low seismic risk, balanced soils, no major hazard

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	1 / 8	161 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	1 / 2	95 / 470
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	2 / 8	362 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	3 / 8	545 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	4 / 8	571 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	2 / 2	169 / 470
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	5 / 8	769 / 1747
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	6 / 8	774 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	7 / 8	1082 / 1747
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	8 / 8	1503 / 1747

Full national ranking: Best environmental quality.

03.

Best cities for health.

Access to GPs (APL), hospitals and specialists, drinking water quality, radon and nuclear exposure

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	1 / 8	232 / 1747
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	2 / 8	276 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	3 / 8	292 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	4 / 8	323 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	5 / 8	432 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	1 / 2	134 / 470
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	6 / 8	559 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	2 / 2	157 / 470
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	7 / 8	726 / 1747
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	8 / 8	1260 / 1747

Full national ranking: Best cities for health.

04.

Best cities for families.

Schools and nurseries, safety, doctors, sport and culture, shops, fibre internet — everything to raise kids well

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	1 / 8	230 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	2 / 8	327 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	1 / 2	127 / 470
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	3 / 8	564 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	4 / 8	609 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	2 / 2	227 / 470
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	5 / 8	989 / 1747
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	6 / 8	990 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	7 / 8	1242 / 1747
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	8 / 8	1593 / 1747

Full national ranking: Best cities for families.

05.

Most dynamic cities.

Growing population, rising incomes, falling unemployment, strong municipal investment, recent housing

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	1 / 2	49 / 470
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	1 / 8	258 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	2 / 8	399 / 1747
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	3 / 8	424 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	4 / 8	596 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	5 / 8	757 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	6 / 8	806 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	2 / 2	225 / 470
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	7 / 8	1081 / 1747
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	8 / 8	1278 / 1747

Full national ranking: Most dynamic cities.

06.

Best quality of life.

Overall synthesis: amenities, safety, doctors, incomes, fibre, nearby nature, healthy water, low unemployment

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	1 / 2	50 / 470
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	1 / 8	257 / 1747
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	2 / 8	311 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	3 / 8	327 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	2 / 2	96 / 470
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	4 / 8	439 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	5 / 8	486 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	6 / 8	552 / 1747
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	7 / 8	723 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	8 / 8	812 / 1747

Full national ranking: Best quality of life.

07.

Best-managed municipalities.

Positive operating balance, controlled debt, strong investment, reasonable property tax rate

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	1 / 8	131 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	2 / 8	492 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	3 / 8	755 / 1747
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	4 / 8	879 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	1 / 2	242 / 470
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	5 / 8	1020 / 1747
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	6 / 8	1195 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	2 / 2	359 / 470
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	7 / 8	1467 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	8 / 8	1685 / 1747

Full national ranking: Best-managed municipalities.

08.

Preserved nature & environment.

National parks, nature reserves, Natura 2000, regional parks, far from nuclear, no major risks — preserved France

Top-ranked in the department

Town	Size tier	Population	Rank in its tier · Department	Rank in its tier · France
Gruissan	Small cities	5,068	1 / 8	4 / 1747
Narbonne	Mid-size cities	56,692	1 / 2	3 / 470
Port-la-Nouvelle	Small cities	5,882	2 / 8	73 / 1747
Sigean	Small cities	5,620	3 / 8	168 / 1747
Limoux	Small cities	10,339	4 / 8	449 / 1747
Coursan	Small cities	5,762	5 / 8	536 / 1747
Carcassonne	Mid-size cities	46,429	2 / 2	179 / 470
Lézignan-Corbières	Small cities	10,855	6 / 8	989 / 1747
Trèbes	Small cities	5,386	7 / 8	1316 / 1747
Castelnaudary	Small cities	12,212	8 / 8	1658 / 1747

Full national ranking: Preserved nature & environment.

Method and limits

What these tables say — and what they don’t.

Scores are composite: each criterion carries a published weight, shown under each national ranking.
Towns are ranked within a population tier (5,000–20,000, 20,000–100,000, over 100,000 inhabitants). Towns under 5,000 inhabitants are not ranked.
A town missing the data for a criterion is left out of that ranking, never ranked last by default.
This is not a league table of lived quality of life: these figures reflect the public data available, with its blind spots and publication delays.
Crime figures are offences recorded by the police and the gendarmerie: they depend on whether victims report them and on how present the services are.

Sources, data years and weightings: About page. A question, a figure that looks wrong to you, a request for a custom breakdown — contact@lagrandecarte.fr.