Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,013 in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. 54% of residents are 65 or over.
Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health is its strong suit — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 24% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. All told, that adds up to a C overall and a rank of #28 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. It comes out better than 28% of compared French towns. Safety is weaker too — an average of 11.2 recorded violent incidents and 22.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Vaux-sur-Mer does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vaux-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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
On the Culture ministry’s list, Vaux-sur-Mer counts 2 historic monuments: 2 classé at the top level of protection and 0 inscrit at the second.
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1913.
1.8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Other places to visit, museums and family days out in and near Vaux-sur-Mer. Best known first.
GardenPlanet Exotica3.9 km east, in RoyanMuseumMuseumMusée de Royan1.7 km southeast, in RoyanAttractionAttractionVilla Hélianthe3.4 km southeast, in RoyanChâteauChâteauChâteau de Mons2.8 km southeast, in RoyanArt galleryArt galleryGalerie du Théâtre3 km southeast, in RoyanTheme parkTheme parkLa Roue3.3 km southeast, in RoyanPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vaux-sur-Mer.
6.3% are under 15, below Charente-Maritime’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. People 65 and over make up 54% of the town. Residents of Vaux-sur-Mer have a median age of 66.9.
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
| Vaux-sur-Mer | Charente-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 6.3% | 12% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 3.8% | 7.6% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 9.8% | 17% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 54% | 36% | 22% |
| No diploma | 20% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 27% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €15.17/m² a month, above both Charente-Maritime’s towns (€12.46/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The split in Vaux-sur-Mer: €4,198/m² for houses, €4,857/m² for apartments. Houses accounted for 62% of sales, apartments for the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,198/m² | 318 |
| Apartments | €4,857/m² | 199 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
With 1,800 jobs for 900 working residents, Vaux-sur-Mer draws people in from neighbouring communes. 121 offenses were reported in Vaux-sur-Mer during 2025. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For vehicle theft, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 2.1% 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.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Women in Charente-Maritime live to 85.5 on average and men to 79.6 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 652 deaths in Vaux-sur-Mer between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 789: 17% below. 4 GPs practise here.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Schools rank #36 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. At the general lycée, 94% of 351 candidates passed the bac, 3 points below the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Henri DunantNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 156 | 96%+5 pts |
| Lycée CordouanNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 351 | 94%−3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
The median disposable income was €30,210 a year per consumption unit, above Charente-Maritime’s towns (€26,025) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 7.3% of Vaux-sur-Mer’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
1.8% of homes were built before 1919. Among the classé monuments in Vaux-sur-Mer is Église abbatiale Saint-Etienne. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
The list names few of Vaux-sur-Mer’s 2 monuments; beside them, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Église abbatiale Saint-Etienne: Photo: Gnomish · CC BY-SA 3.0
2 notable people were born in Vaux-sur-Mer.
Denis Raisin Dadre: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaux-sur-Mer | 4,013 | — | C | D | D | A− |
| Saint-Palais-sur-Mer | 3,840 | 1.2 | C | D | D− | C+ |
| Royan | 19,425 | 1.7 | C− | D | D | B |
| Saint-Sulpice-de-Royan | 3,446 | 3.1 | B+ | C− | A+ | B |
| Breuillet | 3,058 | 3.5 | B− | D | A− | B+ |
| Saint-Georges-de-Didonne | 5,092 | 4.1 | D | D | D | B− |
| Médis | 3,157 | 4.7 | B− | B− | A | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #31 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 41 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 38% of compared French towns and #36 of 44 in Charente-Maritime. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Vaux-sur-Mer grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Vaux-sur-Mer is a commune of 4,013 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.
