Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Calvados, Normandy, this town has 1,022 residents. It skews older: 33% of residents are 65 or over.
Health outcomes beat most towns (B): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 17% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is hard to get around without a car: 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Schools are weaker too: bac results 5 points below the expected rate; brevet results 1.2 points below the expected rate.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education. Varaville 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.
The 3 things Varaville does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Varaville 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.
Varaville has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Varaville has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 16th century; the first monument here was protected in 1976.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Varaville.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €16.20/m² a month, above both Calvados’ towns (€12.67/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses are advertised at an estimated €11.36/m² a month. Varaville recorded 81 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,921/m² | 53 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Unemployment stands at 12.2%. 4.4% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, lower than both Calvados’ towns (14.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Varaville has 150 jobs for 350 working residents, 0.4 per worker.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nearly a third of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up a third of the town, above Calvados’ towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Under 15: 13% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Varaville | Calvados median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 33% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 19% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 28% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 32% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Calvados median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The town’s pupils have a collège 1.9 mi away. For the general bac, the closest lycée is 9.5 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Alfred KastlerNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 96 | 96%+3 pts |
| Lycée professionnel Jean JoorisNearest lycéeVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 33 | 79%−5 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Varaville is Centre hospitalier Universitaire Cote de Nacre, 9.9 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 123 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 103, 17% fewer. Life expectancy in Calvados: 85.5 years for women and 78.9 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. One GP practises locally.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C to A.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 16th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 7% of the total.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Other places to visit, heritage and museums in and near Varaville. Best known first.
MuseumVilla du Temps retrouvé4.2 km northeast, in CabourgAttractionAttractionCour de la Maisonin townFortFortBatterie de Merville2.7 km west, in Merville-Franceville-PlageAttractionAttractionRedoute de Merville4.5 km west, in Merville-Franceville-PlageAttractionAttractionDakota C472.6 km west, in Merville-Franceville-PlagePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Varaville has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
Manoir dit Cour de la Maison: Photo: Roi.dagobert · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Varaville yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varaville | 1,022 | — | — | D− | — | B |
| Cabourg | 3,725 | 1.9 | D− | D− | D− | C− |
| Dives-sur-Mer | 5,122 | 3 | D− | D− | C | D |
| Ouistreham | 9,212 | 4.7 | C+ | D | C+ | C |
| Troarn | 3,439 | 6.1 | A | C | A | B+ |
| Colleville-Montgomery | 2,586 | 6.2 | — | D | — | C |
| Hermanville-sur-Mer | 3,323 | 7 | — | C− | — | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Varaville has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.4 recorded violent incidents and 14.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade C, better than 27% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Varaville grades D− for cost of living.
Commune in Calvados, Normandy
Varaville is a commune of 1,022 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.
