Police record less crime here than in most towns (A): an average of 1.8 recorded violent incidents and 10.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Residents are healthier than most: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 32% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. What counts against it is cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 15 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The overall grade lands at A, better than 93% of compared French towns. It ranks #2 of 44 in Charente-Maritime.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Sainte-Marie-de-Ré 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.
SchoolsNot graded: no collège with published results within 5 km–
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption · Classé · Photo: Johan Allard · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré’s story
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 15th century; the first monument here was protected in 1921.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré.
Who lives here
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is a graduates’ town: 43% hold a degree, more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns and across compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 11%, below Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. The 65-and-over age group makes up 39% of residents. 7.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
58.5median age
Sainte-Marie-de-RéCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
39%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma13%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education43%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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
Recorded crime per resident is lower in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré than in 94% of compared French towns
In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré. Police and gendarmerie figures for Sainte-Marie-de-Ré show 37 offenses in 2025.
1.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearASafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage28
Burglary9
Armed robbery0
Fraud30
Theft without violence22
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.
1.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
37
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
24.5%
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 · When family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (24.5% of the index here). That estimated share passes 10%, so treat this Safety Grade with more caution than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth A
Fewer deaths than Sainte-Marie-de-Ré’s ages would predict, 68 per 100 expected, under Charente-Maritime’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Charente-Maritime, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.5 years for women and 79.6 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 391 deaths in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 539: 27% below. The nearest emergency department to Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle, 8.5 mi away. There are 5 general practitioners in the town.
−32%deaths against expected, after care homesAHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw73
Adjusted68
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré · 4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle
8.5 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
A home in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré sells for €6,470/m², more than in Charente-Maritime’s towns and across compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €13.95/m² a month, higher than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). House rents are put at about €11.72/m² a month. The market in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré: 234 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€6,470/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré€6,470/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€6,470/m²
234
€13.95/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.39 to €18.74/m² a month)
15
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.72/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€30,190
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de l'Île de Ré
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
1 historic monument and a protected historic area since 2002
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
10% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (8.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 15th century. Among the classé monuments in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is better off than Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €32,660 a year per consumption unit
Nearly a tenth of people in the labour force have no job. Jobs located in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré: 800, for 1,250 residents in work (0.6 each). No commute at all: 8.4% of working residents here at the census.
13%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
Bicycle6%
Public transport4%
On foot3%
Motorbike or scooter2%
800
jobs based in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, 0.6 per working resident
8.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€32,660
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 57% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Sainte-Marie-de-Ré
Is Sainte-Marie-de-Ré safe?
It grades A for safety, #4 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 28 acts of criminal damage.
Is Sainte-Marie-de-Ré expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Sainte-Marie-de-Ré grades C− for cost of living.
About Sainte-Marie-de-Ré
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is a commune of 3,412 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
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.
