Overall, La Rochelle earns a C−, which places it #33 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Set against the rest, it does better than just over a fifth of compared French towns. Homes are dear (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is walkability: 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 41% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Crime runs high: an average of 11.4 recorded violent incidents and 23.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and B for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares La Rochelle 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 La Rochelle.
History
La Rochelle is rich in protected monuments: 37 per 10,000 residents, more than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
260 of the 294 are houses and mansions. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2009. La Rochelle has 294 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 28 classé, the highest protection, and 266 inscrit, the second level. Among the classé monuments here is Tour de la Chaîne.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
La Rochelle gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: 40.5% of commuters
For its 30,350 residents in work, La Rochelle has 50,650 jobs: 1.7 each. Unemployment stood at 14.4%, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,960 a year per consumption unit.
41%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving52%
Bicycle18%
Public transport12%
On foot10%
Motorbike or scooter2%
50,650
jobs based in La Rochelle, 1.7 per working resident
14.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,960
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 97% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living D
Buying in La Rochelle costs more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €4,703/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In La Rochelle, houses go for €4,347/m² and apartments for €4,866/m². The estimated advertised rent is €14.75/m² a month, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses are advertised at an estimated €14.59/m² a month.
€4,703/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Rochelle€4,703/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,347/m²
1,414
Apartments
€4,866/m²
2,574
€14.75/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.38 to €19.12/m² a month)
12
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.59/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,340
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in La Rochelle than in 91% of compared French towns
Recorded offenses in La Rochelle came to 2,775 in 2025. The commonest graded crime locally was criminal damage (2025).
11.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,129
Other physical violence393
Theft from vehicles342
Family violence295
Sexual violence230
Burglary223
Vehicle theft163
Theft without violence1,330
Fraud730
Drug use377
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.
11.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,775
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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 armed robbery, 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, under 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
92.6% of candidates passed the brevet at the nine collèges within 5 km, 1.2 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 83% passed the bac pro, of 473 candidates at 5 lycées. Results rank its schools #22 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Near La Rochelle, 93.8% of lycée candidates passed the bac, in line with Charente-Maritime’s towns (93.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
97%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
La Rochelle skews young, with 17% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns
Graduates make up two in five adults. A quarter of residents are 65 or over, lower than Charente-Maritime’s towns (36%) yet higher than compared French towns (22%). Children under 15 count for 13% of the people here.
43.3median age
La RochelleCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma16%
CAP or BEP21%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education40%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B
Adjusted for age and care homes, La Rochelle sees fewer deaths than 55% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
145 GPs practise in La Rochelle. Its 10 care homes for older people (624 places) count their residents as La Rochelle’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 8,303 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 7,663, 8% fewer. Life expectancy at birth in Charente-Maritime is 85.5 years for women and 79.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
145
GPs in La Rochelle · 5.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle
0.7 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
Tour de la Chaîne: Photo: William Scot · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Porte de la Grosse-Horloge: Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tour Saint-Nicolas: Photo: Brice Rothschild · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Sauveur: Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Rochelle
Is La Rochelle safe?
It grades D for safety, #35 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 223 burglaries and 1,129 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in La Rochelle good?
They grade B, better than 60% of compared French towns and #22 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. 97% of 512 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Jean Dautet in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is La Rochelle expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so La Rochelle grades D for cost of living.
About La Rochelle
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
La Rochelle is a commune of 79,851 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
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.
