Orbec has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is health (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 13% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €1,309/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Lisieux Normandie. Its strongest is walkability (A): 86% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 16% 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.
Each subject compares Orbec 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 Orbec.
HealthHealth D
Allowing for age and care homes, Orbec sees more deaths than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 113 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Orbec sits above both Calvados’ towns (92) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. From 2016 to 2025, 467 residents of Orbec died, against 329 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 42% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
+13%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw142
Adjusted113
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Orbec · 2.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Bernay
11.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Robert Bisson
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Calvados, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Unemployment in Orbec, 14.9%, runs above Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
That puts Orbec above both Calvados’ towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Orbec has 1,000 jobs for 650 working residents, 1.5 per worker. The median disposable income is €21,760 a year per consumption unit.
16%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot10%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,000
jobs based in Orbec, 1.5 per working resident
14.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,760
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 88% of compared French towns
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Orbec are 65 or over, more than in Calvados’ towns or compared French towns
In the comparison, Orbec comes above both Calvados’ towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%). Under-15s account for 14% of the population.
52.3median age
OrbecCalvados medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma35%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat13%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 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
HousingCost of living A−
Renting in Orbec costs less than in Calvados’ towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €9.91/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
For Orbec, that is below both Calvados’ towns (€12.67/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,309/m², comes from 94 sales of houses and apartments in Orbec from July 2023 to June 2026.
€1,309/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Orbec€1,309/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,427/m²
88
€9.91/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.79 to €12.62/m² a month)
3.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.28/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,970
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Lisieux Normandie
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Orbec runs higher than in 77% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 49 offenses in the graded categories in Orbec in 2025. Violence against people ran at 12.7 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 15.9 (2023–2025 average). For sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 9.7% of the index here.
12.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage20
Family violence13
Burglary9
Other physical violence7
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence13
Drug use8
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.
12.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
49
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
9.7%
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
History
Orbec is rich in protected monuments: 35 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.
The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Orbec: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Orbec is Église Notre-Dame. 28% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Calvados’ towns (8.1%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Église Notre-Dame: Photo: ArséniureDeGallium · CC BY 3.0 · Ancien manoir Venelle-Dossin: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maison en pans de bois dite Vieux Manoir: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancien couvent des Augustines, école de musique: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Orbec
Is Orbec safe?
It grades C− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 20 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Orbec good?
They grade A, better than 85% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Orbec expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,309/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Orbec grades A− for cost of living.
About Orbec
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Orbec is a commune of 1,975 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Lisieux Normandie. 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.
