Fewer journeys need a car: 79% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 36% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The local economy does well (A): 1.6 jobs per working resident; 9.2% unemployment. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 13.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Three fifths of its homes are second homes.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Ars-en-Ré 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 Ars-en-Ré 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 Ars-en-Ré.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Ars-en-Ré: 40% are 65 or over, above Charente-Maritime’s towns and compared French towns
33% of adults hold a degree, higher than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (27%) and compared French towns (30%). Aged 15 to 24: 6% of residents. Children under 15 count for 11% of the people here.
58.4median age
Ars-en-RéCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
40%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma16%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat24%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income A
Ars-en-Ré is easier to get around on foot than 94% of compared French towns
Median disposable income comes to €28,270 a year per consumption unit. Nearly a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, lower than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%).
36%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving52%
Bicycle24%
On foot10%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
800
jobs based in Ars-en-Ré, 1.6 per working resident
9.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€28,270
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
11%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
Buying in Ars-en-Ré costs more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €5,983/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €13.95/m² a month, higher than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Estimated advertised rent for houses: €11.72/m² a month. The market in Ars-en-Ré: 90 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€5,983/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ars-en-Ré€5,983/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€5,983/m²
90
€13.95/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.39 to €18.74/m² a month)
13.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.72/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€30,190
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de l'Île de Ré
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Ars-en-Ré: 12% were built before 1919, more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Ars-en-Ré is église Saint-Étienne. The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments here: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
Ars-en-Ré is 18.2 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ars-en-Ré has 3 family doctors. Life expectancy in Charente-Maritime: 85.5 years for women and 79.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 332 residents of Ars-en-Ré died, against 292 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 14% more.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw114
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Ars-en-Ré · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
18.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle
18.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle
85.5 · 79.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente-Maritime, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ancien manoir: Photo: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raffinerie à sel: Photo: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 3.0 · église Saint-Étienne: Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Ars-en-Ré
Is Ars-en-Ré safe?
Ars-en-Ré has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.8 recorded violent incidents and 13.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With 800 jobs for 500 working residents, Ars-en-Ré draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
Is Ars-en-Ré expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Ars-en-Ré grades C− for cost of living.
About Ars-en-Ré
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ars-en-Ré is a commune of 1,314 people in the Communauté de communes de l'Île de Ré. 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.
