Saintes grades C overall: better than 27% of compared French towns, and #29 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 12.9 recorded violent incidents and 28 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 €2,056/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération de Saintes - Grandes Rives - L'Agglo. Its strongest is walkability (A): 77% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 22% 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 Saintes 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 Saintes.
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Saintes than in 96% of compared French towns
Saintes has 20,750 jobs for 9,200 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. In 2025, 1,091 offenses were recorded here. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
12.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage477
Other physical violence140
Family violence115
Theft from vehicles109
Burglary101
Sexual violence96
Vehicle theft53
Theft without violence328
Drug use226
Fraud211
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.
12.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
28
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,091
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 · 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, 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
More commuters in Saintes walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: 21.7%
Median disposable income comes to €24,560 a year per consumption unit. 14.4% of the labour force were unemployed, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Bus, tram or train carried 5.8% of working residents in Saintes to work at the census.
22%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
On foot11%
Public transport6%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
20,750
jobs based in Saintes, 2.3 per working resident
14.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,560
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 86% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
26 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Saintes has 10 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (4.3) and compared French towns (2.5) alike. Since 2002, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Its heritage reaches back to prehistory. Among the classé monuments in the town is Aqueduc gallo-romain de Saintes.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of residents are 65 or over
Children under 15 make up just over one in ten residents. Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over one in ten residents, higher than Charente-Maritime’s towns (7.6%) and near compared French towns (11%). The age that splits Saintes in two is 52.1.
52.1median age
SaintesCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 81 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
HousingCost of living C+
Saintes’s grade for cost of living: a C+
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €2,100/m² in Saintes, apartments for €1,992/m². The median price, €2,056/m², comes from 1,205 sales of houses and apartments here from July 2023 to June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €9.92/m² a month.
€2,056/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saintes€2,056/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,100/m²
849
Apartments
€1,992/m²
356
€11.82/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.59 to €14.57/m² a month)
5.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.92/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,510
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Saintes - Grandes Rives - L'Agglo
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Saintes has a higher adjusted death rate than 56% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
3,797 deaths in Saintes between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 3,732: 2% above. Its seven care homes for older people (508 places) count their residents as Saintes’; allowing for them, deaths were 10% below expected. This Charente-Maritime town has 54 family doctors. 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.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
54
GPs in Saintes · 5.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch de Saintonge Saintes
1.2 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
Joris Daudet: Agência Brasil Fotografias, CC BY 2.0 · Jules-Antoine Castagnary: Félix Bracquemond, Public domain · Robert Jacquinot de Besange: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Kilian Patour: Stig Nygaard from Copenhagen, Denmark; cut by user:Tekstman, CC BY 2.0 · Gabriel Richard: Lewis, James Otto, 1799-1858, Public domain · Emmanuel Gonzalès: Illegible, Public domain
Saintes’ 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 Saintes
Is Saintes safe?
It grades D− for safety, #41 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 101 burglaries and 477 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saintes good?
They grade B−, better than 50% of compared French towns and #28 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. 96% of 281 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Bellevue 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 Saintes expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,056/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.82/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saintes grades C+ for cost of living.
About Saintes
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Saintes is a commune of 25,363 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Saintes - Grandes Rives - L'Agglo. 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
25,363 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de Saintes - Grandes Rives - L'Agglo
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.
