Strong in places, weak in others. At C overall, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer is better than 28% of compared French towns and ranks #27 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Where it falls short is safety: an average of 11.8 recorded violent incidents and 33.8 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: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Pupils here do better than most: brevet results 5 points above the expected rate. Households here earn well: 0.9 jobs per working resident; 12.6% unemployment. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and 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) · amenities, INSEE BPE 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 Saint-Palais-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.
Phare de Terre-Nègre: Photo: Kolossus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Restes de l'ancienne église Saint-Pallais: Photo: Cobber17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer.
Who lives here
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer has fewer young adults than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: 3.5% are 15 to 24
68.1median age
6.5% of residents are children under 15. People 65 and over make up 58% of the town, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (36%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Half of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer is older than 68.1, half younger.
Saint-Palais-sur-MerCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
58%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma14%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 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, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer sits above 98% of compared French towns
11.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
On the Safety Grade, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer ranks 42nd of the 44 compared towns in Charente-Maritime. In all, 170 offenses reached the police record here in 2025. The commonest graded crime locally was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage51
Burglary48
Other physical violence24
Family violence23
Theft from vehicles17
Sexual violence7
Theft without violence43
Fraud24
Drug use16
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.
11.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
33.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
170
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.4%
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 and vehicle theft, 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, 1.4% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
Exam results around Saint-Palais-sur-Mer beat 96% of compared French towns
96.0%passed the brevetA+School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Results rank its schools #1 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. For collège, the closest is 1.7 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living D
Homes in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer cost more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or across compared French towns, with a median sale of €4,721/m²
€4,721/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €14.23/m² a month, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The split in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer: €4,547/m² for houses, €5,172/m² for apartments. Of the homes sold, 68% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer€4,721/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,547/m²
312
Apartments
€5,172/m²
144
€14.23/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.09 to €18.26/m² a month)
12.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.04/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
History
2 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2007
2historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century. Since 2007, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Homes from before 1919 make up 4% of the total, below both Charente-Maritime’s towns (8.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé0
Inscrit2
12th c.
oldest protected part
1973
first monument protected
2007
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer is better off than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €31,170 a year per consumption unit
9%walk, cycle or take transit
Unemployment runs at 12.6%. At the census, 9.1% 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%).
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
Bicycle4%
On foot3%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
800
jobs based in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, 0.9 per working resident
12.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€31,170
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 42% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer sees more deaths than 55% of compared French towns
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (81 places) counts its residents as Saint-Palais-sur-Mer’s; allowing for it, deaths were 10% below expected. 769 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 787: 2% below. Life expectancy in Charente-Maritime: 85.5 years for women and 79.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 5 GPs practise here.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw98
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Royan Atlantique
21.4 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
Pierre Raphaël Paillot de Beauregard: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Christian Tal Schaller: Le Chou Brave - Magazine, CC BY 3.0
About Saint-Palais-sur-Mer
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer is a commune of 3,840 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
Population
3,840 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Royan Atlantique
Département
Charente-Maritime (17)
Région
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Area
6 sq mi (15.7 km²)
INSEE code
17380
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer’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 Saint-Palais-sur-Mer
Is Saint-Palais-sur-Mer safe?
It grades D− for safety, #42 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 48 burglaries and 51 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer good?
They grade A+, better than 96% of compared French towns and #1 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Palais-sur-Mer expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Palais-sur-Mer grades D for cost of living.
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.
