A tough set of grades. The weak point is cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Overall, Colombelles earns a D: better than 14% of compared French towns, and #39 of 46 in Calvados. It is easy to get around without a car (A−): 80% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 16% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Colombelles 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 Colombelles.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Colombelles, 14.5%, runs above Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
5,600 jobs are based in Colombelles, for 2,950 working residents (1.9 per worker). Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €21,980 a year. Also worth knowing: at the census, 8.7% of working residents in Colombelles went to work by public transport.
16%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
Public transport9%
On foot4%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,600
jobs based in Colombelles, 1.9 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,980
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
2%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
The median sale price of homes in Colombelles is €2,586/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Colombelles: €2,304/m² for houses, €2,779/m² for apartments. Renting a house costs an estimated €10.92/m² a month. Houses made up 59% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
€2,586/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Colombelles€2,586/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,304/m²
111
Apartments
€2,779/m²
78
€12.73/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.90 to €14.86/m² a month)
7.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.92/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,510
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
More crime per resident in Colombelles than in 71% of compared French towns
Violence against people ran at 11 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 15.6 (2023–2025 average). 165 offenses were reported in Colombelles during 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Colombelles (2025).
11recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage55
Other physical violence37
Family violence31
Theft from vehicles17
Burglary9
Sexual violence8
Vehicle theft8
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence37
Fraud35
Drug use22
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
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
165
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
83.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the 10 collèges within 5 km, 4.6 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 88% passed the bac pro, of 634 candidates at 6 lycées. The town’s pupils have a collège 1.2 mi away. On results, collèges and lycées here come #31 of 50 in Calvados.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 13% of people in Colombelles are 15 to 24, more than in both Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
Those 65 and older account for 18% of residents. Children under 15 make up 19%, above Calvados’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Graduates make up just over a fifth of adults.
38.7median age
ColombellesCalvados medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Calvados median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth C+
Adjusted for age and care homes, Colombelles sees more deaths than 64% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (131 places) count their residents as Colombelles’; allowing for them, deaths were 7% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 719 residents of Colombelles died, against 610 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% more. In Calvados, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.5 years for women and 78.9 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. There are 8 general practitioners here.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw118
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Colombelles · 5.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
2.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Universitaire Cote de Nacre
2.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Universitaire Cote de Nacre
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Calvados, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Colombelles
Is Colombelles safe?
It grades C for safety, #33 of 46 in Calvados. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 55 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Colombelles good?
They grade C, better than 33% of compared French towns and #31 of 50 in Calvados. 93% of 326 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Salvador Allende in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Colombelles expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.73/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Colombelles grades C− for cost of living.
About Colombelles
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Colombelles is a commune of 7,243 people in the Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer. 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.
