The weak point is safety (D) — an average of 13 recorded violent incidents and 22.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Surgères grades C− overall and ranks #31 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Set against the rest, it does better than 24% of compared French towns. It lags on health as well — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 8% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. A 70 m² home at the median €2,000/m² costs 5.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Aunis Sud. Its strongest is walkability — 87% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · 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 Surgères 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 Surgères.
Safety
Surgères sees more crime per resident than nine in ten compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Surgères show 269 offenses in 2025. This Charente-Maritime town has 3,950 jobs for 2,500 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Also worth knowing: among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
13recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage89
Family violence53
Other physical violence36
Burglary27
Sexual violence23
Theft from vehicles21
Vehicle theft20
Fraud51
Theft without violence48
Drug use44
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.
13
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
269
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Incomes in Surgères run lower than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: a median €24,050 a year per consumption unit
Unemployment stood at 11.7%, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Public transport took 5.4% of Surgères’ working residents to work at the census.
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot8%
Public transport5%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
3,950
jobs based in Surgères, 1.6 per working resident
11.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,050
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 83% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer people in Surgères hold a degree than in Charente-Maritime’s towns or compared French towns: 24%
Children under 15 make up 13%, higher than Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%) yet lower than compared French towns (17%). A third of residents have reached 65. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents.
52median age
SurgèresCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 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
HealthHealth C+
Adjusted for age and care homes, Surgères sees more deaths than 62% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted mortality in Surgères: 92 deaths for every 100 expected. 1,057 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,020: 4% above. The nearest emergency department to Surgères is Centre hospitalier Rochefort, 14 mi away. Women in Charente-Maritime live to 85.5 on average and men to 79.6 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−8%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw104
Adjusted92
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Surgères · 3.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Rochefort
14 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Rochefort
85.5 · 79.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente-Maritime, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
3 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2007
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Since 2007, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. Surgères has 3 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 2 inscrit, the second level. Among the classé monuments here is Église Notre-Dame. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living C+
Surgères gets a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €2,000/m²: 322 houses and apartments sold in Surgères between July 2023 and June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €11.65/m² a month, lower than both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses were 93% of what sold.
€2,000/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Surgères€2,000/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente-Maritime median€3,369/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,999/m²
298
€11.65/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.50 to €14.29/m² a month)
5.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.12/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,060
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Aunis Sud
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Surgères
Is Surgères safe?
It grades D for safety, #35 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 27 burglaries and 89 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Surgères good?
They grade B−, better than 46% of compared French towns and #30 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Surgères expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,000/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Surgères grades C+ for cost of living.
About Surgères
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Surgères is a commune of 6,897 people in the Communauté de communes Aunis Sud. 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.
