Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,632 in Cher, Centre-Val de Loire.
Méreau has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here. Its weakest subject is walkability (C−): 52% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 6% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its strongest is cost of living (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Méreau does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Méreau 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.
Méreau has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Méreau, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 15th century; the first monument here was protected in 1988.
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Méreau. Best known first.
AttractionJardin de l'abbaye de Vierzon3.8 km north, in Vierzon
MuseumMusée de Vierzon4.1 km north, in VierzonChâteauChâteauChâteau d'Autryin townChâteauChâteauChâteau de Chevillyin townChâteauChâteauChâteau de Madrollein townPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Méreau.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Méreau below both Cher’s towns (€9.78/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,165/m², comes from 79 sales of houses and apartments in Méreau from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,165/m² | 79 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
On this, Méreau is below both Cher’s towns (11.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Méreau has 500 jobs for 1,150 working residents, 0.4 per worker. The median disposable income is €27,240 a year per consumption unit.
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.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Méreau, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
9.7% of residents are 15 to 24 and 25% are 65 or over, against 9.2% and 29% in the median compared commune of Cher. 26% of adults who have left education hold a higher-education diploma (Cher 20%, France 30%).
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
| Méreau | Cher median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 9.2% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 17% | 25% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 20% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Cher median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
In the comparison, Méreau comes below both Cher’s towns (86.7%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Albert CamusNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 115 | 83%−5 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Henri BrissonNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 103 | 92%−2 pts |
| Collège privé Notre-Dame PrivateBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 67 | 100%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 217 residents of Méreau died, against 250 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 13% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C to A−.
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
Police and gendarmerie recorded 25 offenses in the graded categories in Méreau in 2025. For family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 44.3% of the index here.
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
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Méreau, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Château d'Autry: Photo: Bouriezemmanuel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Méreau yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Méreau | 2,632 | — | — | A+ | — | B− |
| Vierzon | 25,068 | 2.5 | C | A | D | C− |
| Mehun-sur-Yèvre | 6,380 | 8.6 | C | A | C+ | D |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin | 3,681 | 15 | A | B | A+ | B− |
| Villefranche-sur-Cher Loir-et-Cher | 2,678 | 16 | B | A | A− | D |
| Saint-Doulchard | 9,647 | 16 | B+ | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Salbris Loir-et-Cher | 4,809 | 16 | C+ | A | B− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Méreau has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 1.7 recorded violent incidents and 6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 13 burglaries and 12 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 44% of compared French towns and #6 of 14 in Cher. 92% of 103 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Henri Brisson in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,165/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Méreau grades A+ for cost of living.
Commune in Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
Méreau is a commune of 2,632 people in the Communauté de communes Cœur de Berry. 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 October 30, 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.
