Is Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe a good place to live?
Where it does best is walkability (A−) — 62% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. People here tend to be in good health: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €2,909/m², a 70 m² home costs 8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer. Its weakest subject is jobs & income: 0.2 jobs per working resident; 13.6% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe 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.
SafetyNot graded: over a quarter of the index would rest on the département’s average, where small counts aren’t published–
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Ancienne abbaye d'Ardenne · Classé · Photo: Burtonpe sur Wikipédia anglais · CC BY-SA 3.0
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe’s story
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe in pictures
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 0 inscrit, the second level.
The oldest protected part dates from the 13th century; the first monument here was protected in 1918.
1.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe.
HousingCost of living C−
For cost of living, Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe gets a C−
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
31 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,909/m². The estimated advertised rent is €13.59/m² a month, higher than both Calvados’ towns (€12.67/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house rents for an estimated €10.70/m² a month.
€2,909/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe€2,909/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Calvados median€2,560/m²
€13.59/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.06 to €16.70/m² a month)
8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.70/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
Work & commuteJobs & income D−
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe has higher unemployment than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns: 13.6%
Median disposable income is €22,810 a year for each consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 12.3% of working residents in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe to work at the census.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving74%
Public transport12%
Bicycle5%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
200
jobs based in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, 0.2 per working resident
13.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,810
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 81% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe skews young, with 14% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Calvados’ towns or compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 19%, above both Calvados’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). Those 65 and older account for 18% of residents. Also worth knowing: nearly a third of adults hold a degree.
40.8median age
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-HerbeCalvados medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education32%
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%.
Ages and diplomas in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe
INSEE, census 2023 · Calvados median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe’s ages would predict, 82 per 100 expected, under Calvados’ towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Calvados: 85.5 years for women, 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. From 2016 to 2025, 124 residents of Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe died, against 150 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% fewer. There are 3 general practitioners in the town.
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw82
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe · 7.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive St Martin Caen
2.1 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
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 1.4%. Among the classé monuments in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe is Ancienne abbaye d'Ardenne. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 13th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
91.1% of candidates passed the brevet at the 12 collèges within 5 km, 1.4 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe is 95.0%, above both Calvados’ towns (93.2%) and compared French towns (92.9%). The nearest collège is 1.1 mi away.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
The graded crime recorded most in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe was criminal damage (2025). Recorded offenses here came to 29 in 2025. Violence against people averaged 2.2 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 9.2.
2.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage12
Burglary9
Theft from vehicles8
Armed robbery0
Fraud11
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.
2.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
29
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
33.2%
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 · For family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence and vehicle theft, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 33.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe
Is Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe safe?
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 12 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe good?
They grade B−, better than 55% of compared French towns. 99% of 265 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé Jeanne d'Arc in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,909/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe grades C− for cost of living.
About Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe is a commune of 2,482 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.
