A tough set of grades. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools lag: bac results 5 points below the expected rate; brevet results 11 points below the expected rate. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 27% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade comes out at D−, behind almost every compared French town. It lags on health as well: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 6% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Dives-sur-Mer 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 Dives-sur-Mer.
HousingCost of living D−
Renting in Dives-sur-Mer costs more than in Calvados’ towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €16.21/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €4,064/m², above Calvados’ towns (€2,560/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Houses in Dives-sur-Mer sell for €3,652/m² and apartments for €4,906/m². The sales split: 64% houses, the rest apartments.
€4,064/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Dives-sur-Mer€4,064/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,652/m²
175
Apartments
€4,906/m²
99
€16.21/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€12.78 to €20.56/m² a month)
10.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.28/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,780
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Normandie-Cabourg-Pays d'Auge
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Dives-sur-Mer, 15.2%, runs above Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
Just over a quarter of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Calvados’ towns (14.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. For its 1,750 residents in work, Dives-sur-Mer has 2,500 jobs: 1.4 each. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €22,640 a year per consumption unit.
27%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving69%
On foot18%
Bicycle7%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,500
jobs based in Dives-sur-Mer, 1.4 per working resident
15.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,640
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
Fewer pass the bac at the lycées near Dives-sur-Mer than in Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 79.0%
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Dives-sur-Mer, nearly two thirds of collège pupils passed the brevet, below both Calvados’ towns (87.5%) and compared French towns (87.5%). General-bac pupils go 9.5 mi to the nearest lycée. On results, collèges and lycées here come #44 of 50 in Calvados.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Dives-sur-Mer is rich in protected monuments: 14 per 10,000 residents, more than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Dives-sur-Mer is Église Notre-Dame. The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in the town: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). The protected list starts in the 13th century. Houses and mansions, 4 of the 7, make up the bulk.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth D
Allowing for age and care homes, Dives-sur-Mer sees more deaths than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 106 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Dives-sur-Mer is Ch Cote Fleurie site de Cricqueboeuf, 12.3 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 667 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 745, 12% more. Life expectancy at birth in Calvados is 85.5 years for women and 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Dives-sur-Mer can choose among 7 GPs.
+6%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw112
Adjusted106
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Dives-sur-Mer · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
12.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Cote Fleurie site de Cricqueboeuf
13.2 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
Children make up only 13% of Dives-sur-Mer, fewer than in Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
Degrees are held by 15% of adults, below both Calvados’ towns (26%) and compared French towns (30%). Over-65s are a third of the population. Residents of Dives-sur-Mer have a median age of 53.8.
53.8median age
Dives-sur-MerCalvados medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education15%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Calvados median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Dives-sur-Mer sees more crime per resident than 73% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Dives-sur-Mer show 130 offenses in 2025. Each year (2023–2025 average), violence against people came to 11.2 per 1,000 residents and the graded property crimes to 16.2. The commonest graded crime locally was criminal damage (2025).
11.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage75
Sexual violence20
Family violence15
Other physical violence14
Burglary6
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence44
Fraud39
Drug use12
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.
11.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
130
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.9%
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 · Small counts of vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 2.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Dives-sur-Mer
Is Dives-sur-Mer safe?
It grades C for safety, #35 of 46 in Calvados. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 6 burglaries and 75 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Dives-sur-Mer good?
They grade D, better than 7% of compared French towns and #44 of 50 in Calvados. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Dives-sur-Mer expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Dives-sur-Mer grades D− for cost of living.
About Dives-sur-Mer
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Dives-sur-Mer is a commune of 5,122 people in the Communauté de communes Normandie-Cabourg-Pays d'Auge. 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
5,122 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Normandie-Cabourg-Pays d'Auge
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.
