Royan grades C− overall: better than 17% of compared French towns, and #34 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 12.2 recorded violent incidents and 26 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €3,802/m², a 70 m² home costs 10.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Royan Atlantique. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 92% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Royan 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 Royan.
Who lives here
An older town: 49% of people in Royan are 65 or over, more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns and across compared French towns
Under-15s account for 8% of the population. People aged 15 to 24 make up 6.2% of the town, below both Charente-Maritime’s towns (7.6%) and compared French towns (11%). Graduates make up 27% of adults.
64.5median age
RoyanCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
49%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 77 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
Safety
For crime per resident, Royan sits above 94% of compared French towns
With 10,150 jobs for 5,300 working residents, Royan draws people in from neighbouring communes. Over 2025, Royan logged 683 recorded offenses. More of the graded crimes locally were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
12.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage259
Family violence111
Other physical violence98
Burglary84
Theft from vehicles65
Sexual violence46
Vehicle theft20
Drug use320
Theft without violence197
Fraud145
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.
12.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
26
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
683
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.1% of the index here. 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.
HousingCost of living D
Renting in Royan costs more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €14.41/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses in Royan sell for €3,704/m² and apartments for €3,892/m². 1,924 sales of houses and apartments locally, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €3,802/m². From July 2023 to June 2026, 1,924 homes were sold locally.
€3,802/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Royan€3,802/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,704/m²
816
Apartments
€3,892/m²
1,108
€14.41/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.25 to €18.47/m² a month)
10.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.22/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,480
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Royan Atlantique
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Royan has higher unemployment than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: 17.0%
14.7% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €26,760 a year per consumption unit.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot8%
Bicycle4%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter2%
10,150
jobs based in Royan, 1.9 per working resident
17.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,760
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 80% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
12 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1996
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Royan has 6.2 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (4.3) and compared French towns (2.5). Since 1996, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. The pre-1919 share of homes is 2.1%. Among the classé monuments in the town is Église Notre-Dame.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Royan records 85 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 89 in Charente-Maritime’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Royan has 29 family doctors. 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. 3,689 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 4,070: 9% below.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw91
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
29
GPs in Royan · 4.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Gcs Urgences Pays Royannais Pasteur
19.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch de Saintonge Saintes
85.5 · 79.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente-Maritime, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Trévor Clévenot: Lega Pallavolo Serie A, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Benoît Biteau: EuropeEcologie, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Auguste Rateau: Photographer anonymous, Public domain · Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet: Michel rocher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cécile Rol-Tanguy: Siren-Com, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Didier Quentin: KiwiNeko14, CC BY-SA 4.0
Royan’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Royan
Is Royan safe?
It grades D for safety, #38 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 84 burglaries and 259 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Royan good?
They grade C+, better than 42% of compared French towns and #35 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. 94% of 351 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Cordouan in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Royan expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,802/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Royan grades D for cost of living.
About Royan
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Royan is a commune of 19,425 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
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.
