Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,418 people call this town in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine home.
Health is its strong suit (A) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At €2,656/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 6.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle. Its lowest grade is for jobs & income: 0.2 jobs per working resident; 9.8% unemployment. It lags on walkability as well (C−): just over nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Croix-Chapeau 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 Croix-Chapeau 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.
Croix-Chapeau has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The one thing Croix-Chapeau does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Croix-Chapeau as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Notre-Dame, in La Jarne, 3.5 mi away.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Nothing in Croix-Chapeau is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Croix-Chapeau.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 66 residents of Croix-Chapeau died, against 96 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 31% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Croix-Chapeau is Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle, 7.5 mi away. In Charente-Maritime, women can expect to live 85.5 years and men 79.6 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
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 · That adjustment for care homes is a model of TownRatings’ own, not official data.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The town’s pupils have a collège 1.5 mi away. The closest lycée for the general bac is 7.1 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Françoise DoltoNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 134 | 97%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Half of residents lived on more than €27,600 a year per consumption unit, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€26,025) and compared French towns (€25,970). No commute at all: 4.9% of working residents in Croix-Chapeau at the census. Of those in the labour force, 9.8% are unemployed.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Children under 15 make up 17%, about level with compared French towns (17%) and above Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 11% of residents. Degrees are held by just over a third of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
| Croix-Chapeau | Charente-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 12% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 7.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 17% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 19% | 36% | 22% |
| No diploma | 12% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,656/m², comes from 49 sales of houses and apartments in Croix-Chapeau from July 2023 to June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €12.68/m² a month. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.95/m² a month, in line with Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,656/m² | 49 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage and other places to visit in and near Croix-Chapeau. Best known first.
3 notable people were born in Croix-Chapeau.
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Croix-Chapeau is a commune of 1,418 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croix-Chapeau | 1,418 | — | — | C+ | — | A |
| La Jarrie | 3,458 | 1.2 | — | C | — | B+ |
| La Jarne | 2,637 | 3.4 | — | C− | — | B− |
| Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis | 4,677 | 3.5 | B+ | C− | A | B− |
| Châtelaillon-Plage | 6,653 | 4.6 | B | D | C+ | B+ |
| Angoulins | 4,240 | 5 | A− | D | C+ | A− |
| Périgny | 8,877 | 5.5 | B+ | D− | C+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Croix-Chapeau has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 7.4 recorded violent incidents and 6.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A, better than 92% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,656/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Croix-Chapeau grades C+ for cost of living.
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 November 4, 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.