Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,180: a town in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Les Mathes’s strongest subject is health (B+) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Crime runs high: an average of 21.3 recorded violent incidents and 31.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It lags on cost of living as well (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for jobs & income and B− for walkability.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Les Mathes 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 Les Mathes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Les Mathes 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.
Les Mathes has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Les Mathes has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 20th century; the first monument here was protected in 2002.
Family days out and other places to visit in and near Les Mathes. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Les Mathes.
9.8% are under 15, lower than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 5.4% of the population. Degrees are held by nearly a quarter of adults.
52% women, 48% men
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.
| Les Mathes | Charente-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.8% | 12% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 5.4% | 7.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 17% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 42% | 36% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 33% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 23% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Jobs outnumber working residents in Les Mathes (900 to 650): it draws people in from around. Over 2025, Les Mathes logged 119 recorded offenses. Also worth knowing: of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (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 · 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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €13.67/m² a month, higher than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses made up 91% of the homes sold; apartments the rest. House rents are put at about €11.19/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,359/m² | 301 |
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.
At birth, a girl in Charente-Maritime can expect 85.5 years and a boy 79.6 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 219 residents of Les Mathes died, against 268 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Les Mathes is Centre hospitalier Royan Atlantique, 7 mi away. The town has one family doctor.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, 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 protected list starts in the 20th century. Before 1919: that is when 7.1% of homes were built.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €27,780 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 7.1% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (10.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Les Mathes has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
Wikidata places 2 people here, but for none of them do the articles confirm Les Mathes as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Mathes | 2,180 | — | — | D | D− | B+ |
| Arvert | 3,917 | 2.6 | B | C | A | C+ |
| Étaules | 2,857 | 2.8 | B− | C+ | A | B− |
| La Tremblade | 4,650 | 4.3 | C | C− | D | C |
| Breuillet | 3,058 | 4.7 | B− | D | A− | B+ |
| Saint-Palais-sur-Mer | 3,840 | 5.5 | C | D | D− | C+ |
| Vaux-sur-Mer | 4,013 | 6.7 | C | D | D | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 34 acts of criminal damage.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Les Mathes grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Les Mathes is a commune of 2,180 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Royan Atlantique. 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 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.