Falaise grades C− overall: better than 17% of compared French towns, and #37 of 46 in Calvados. Its weakest subject is health (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 9% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €1,828/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Falaise. Its strongest is walkability (A): 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% 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 Falaise 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 Falaise.
History
Falaise has 24 historic monuments, more per resident than 98% of compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Falaise has 31 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Calvados’ towns (6.4) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments locally is Château fort, actuellement collège. Its heritage reaches back to the 10th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Falaise sees more crime per resident than 90% of compared French towns
Falaise has 5,200 jobs for 2,800 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 18.1 violent offenses and 16.5 graded property crimes a year. The police record for Falaise lists 275 offenses in 2025. Also worth knowing: among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was family violence (2025).
18.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence82
Criminal damage73
Other physical violence54
Sexual violence22
Theft from vehicles18
Burglary16
Vehicle theft10
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence48
Fraud45
Drug use36
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.
18.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
275
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 · Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth D
Allowing for age and care homes, Falaise sees more deaths than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 109 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 999 deaths in Falaise from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,330, 33% more. Women in Calvados live to 85.5 on average and men to 78.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Falaise can choose among 14 GPs.
+9%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw133
Adjusted109
Median town88
Expected100
14
GPs in Falaise · 4.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Falaise
13.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Fernand Leger Argentan
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Calvados, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Falaise has higher unemployment than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 16.0%
Nearly a fifth of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Calvados’ towns (14.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Households’ median disposable income: €23,070 a year per consumption unit.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot16%
Bicycle2%
Public transport1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,200
jobs based in Falaise, 1.9 per working resident
16.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,070
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 88% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Falaise than in Calvados’ towns or across compared French towns: 20% of adults
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 12% of residents. 26% of residents are 65 or over, about level with Calvados’ towns (25%) and above compared French towns (22%). Ages in Falaise split evenly at 46: half are older, half younger.
46median age
FalaiseCalvados medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
26%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma32%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 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
HousingCost of living B
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Falaise than in Calvados’ towns or across compared French towns: €10.60/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
292 sales of houses and apartments in Falaise, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,828/m². Houses were three fifths of what sold. Renting a house costs an estimated €8.37/m² a month.
€1,828/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Falaise€1,828/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,827/m²
174
Apartments
€1,831/m²
118
€10.60/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.44 to €13.32/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.37/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,610
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays de Falaise
Guillaume le Conquérant: Myrabella, Public domain · Alain Ferté: Martin Lee from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Michel Ferté: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Louis Alphonse de Brébisson: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Louis Liard: Jean-André Rixens, CC BY-SA 4.0 · François Bonnemer: Didier Descouens, Public domain
Falaise’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 Falaise
Is Falaise safe?
It grades D for safety, #42 of 46 in Calvados. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 16 burglaries and 73 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Falaise good?
They grade C+, better than 45% of compared French towns and #19 of 50 in Calvados. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Falaise expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,828/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €1,827/m² (174 sales), apartments €1,831/m² (118 sales). Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Falaise grades B for cost of living.
About Falaise
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Falaise is a commune of 7,680 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Falaise. 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.
