Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,112 residents, it is a town in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
La Couarde-sur-Mer is easy to get around without a car: 95% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 22% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Buying 70 m² at the median €7,268/m² takes 16.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes de l'Île de Ré. Crime is the sore point: an average of 10.1 recorded violent incidents and 26.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Residents’ health trails most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 7% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). La Couarde-sur-Mer 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 La Couarde-sur-Mer 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.
La Couarde-sur-Mer has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The 3 things La Couarde-sur-Mer does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in La Couarde-sur-Mer as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Saint-Martin dite Le Grand Fort, in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, 3 mi away.
Explore the history →Nothing in La Couarde-sur-Mer 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 La Couarde-sur-Mer.
Graduates make up 35% of adults. Children under 15 make up 9.4%, below both Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 7% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
| La Couarde-sur-Mer | Charente-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.4% | 12% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7% | 7.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 17% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 46% | 36% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 24% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Police and gendarmerie figures for La Couarde-sur-Mer show 39 offenses in 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in La Couarde-sur-Mer (500 to 350): it draws people in from around. The commonest graded crime in the town was criminal damage (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For family 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, 22.0% of the index here. As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
At the census, 22.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Unemployment stood at 11.8%, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €13.95/m² a month, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. From July 2023 to June 2026, 128 homes were sold in La Couarde-sur-Mer. Renting a house costs an estimated €11.72/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €7,289/m² | 121 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of La Couarde-sur-Mer can choose among 5 GPs. The nearest emergency department to La Couarde-sur-Mer is Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle, 13.8 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 194 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 180, 7% fewer. Women in Charente-Maritime live to 85.5 on average and men to 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 · The care-home step is TownRatings’ own calculation, not an official number. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Museums, heritage and family days out in and near La Couarde-sur-Mer. Best known first.
One notable person was born in La Couarde-sur-Mer.
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
La Couarde-sur-Mer is a commune of 1,112 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Couarde-sur-Mer | 1,112 | — | — | C− | D | C+ |
| La Flotte | 3,150 | 4.9 | A | C− | A− | A |
| Sainte-Marie-de-Ré | 3,412 | 5.8 | A | C− | A | A |
| La Tranche-sur-Mer Vendée | 3,136 | 11 | D− | D | C− | C− |
| L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'île Vendée | 2,845 | 11 | C− | D | C+ | B |
| L'Houmeau | 3,000 | 12 | — | D | — | B+ |
| Nieul-sur-Mer | 5,811 | 12 | A | D | A+ | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 6 burglaries and 17 acts of criminal damage.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so La Couarde-sur-Mer 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.