Ifs grades B− overall: better than 45% of compared French towns, and #22 of 46 in Calvados. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is walkability (A): 97% 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 Ifs 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 Ifs.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Ifs is easier to get around on foot than 93% of compared French towns
18.9% 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%). Unemployment stands at 14.0%. Ifs has 6,050 jobs for 4,950 working residents, 1.2 per worker.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
Public transport10%
Bicycle5%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
6,050
jobs based in Ifs, 1.2 per working resident
14.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,030
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 93% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Fewer deaths than Ifs’ ages would predict, 74 per 100 expected, under Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
That puts Ifs below both Calvados’ towns (92) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 832 residents of Ifs died, against 961 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 13% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−26%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw87
Adjusted74
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Ifs · 6.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique du Parc Caen
1.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique du Parc Caen
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Calvados, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
The median sale price of homes in Ifs is €2,500/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That is the middle of 342 sales of houses and apartments in Ifs from July 2023 to June 2026, against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns and €2,560/m² for the median of compared towns in Calvados.
€2,500/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ifs€2,500/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,684/m²
189
Apartments
€2,261/m²
153
€13.52/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.40 to €16.02/m² a month)
6.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.96/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,510
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer
INSEE, census 2023 · Calvados median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
2 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Ifs: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). 0.9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Ifs has more crime per resident than 56% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 315 offenses in the graded categories in Ifs in 2025. For armed robbery, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 0.2% of the index here.
8.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage105
Theft from vehicles57
Other physical violence50
Family violence34
Burglary29
Vehicle theft21
Sexual violence19
Theft without violence56
Fraud53
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.
8.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
315
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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Ifs
Is Ifs safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #29 of 46 in Calvados. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 29 burglaries and 105 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Ifs good?
They grade C, better than 34% of compared French towns and #30 of 50 in Calvados. 100% of 24 candidates passed the bac at Lycée François Rabelais in 2025 given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ifs expensive to live in?
By type: houses €2,684/m² (189 sales), apartments €2,261/m² (153 sales). Estimated advertised apartment rents are €13.52/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Ifs grades C− for cost of living.
About Ifs
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Ifs is a commune of 11,937 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.
