Good on most counts; one lags. Where it does best is walkability (A) — nearly four in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 26% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. With a B overall, Niort is better than 62% of compared French towns. Health is a strength: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The catch is safety — an average of 10.2 recorded violent incidents and 23 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At €2,000/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools and B for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Niort 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 Niort.
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Niort gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than in both Deux-Sèvres’ towns and compared French towns: 25.7% of commuters
Unemployment stood at 11.5%, higher than both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (8.2%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Jobs located in Niort: 48,950, for 26,050 residents in work (1.9 each). At the census, 2.8% of working residents in Niort didn’t travel to work at all.
26%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving70%
On foot10%
Public transport8%
Bicycle8%
Motorbike or scooter2%
48,950
jobs based in Niort, 1.9 per working resident
11.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,970
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Niort than in 88% of compared French towns
For 2025, the figures show 1,816 offenses in Niort. The town comes 19th of the 21 compared towns in Deux-Sèvres on the Safety Grade. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
10.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage591
Burglary371
Other physical violence241
Family violence231
Theft from vehicles146
Sexual violence126
Vehicle theft101
Armed robbery9
Theft without violence508
Fraud389
Drug use387
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.
10.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,816
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than expected: Niort is below 68% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its 10 care homes for older people (868 places) count their residents as Niort’s; allowing for them, deaths were 18% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 6,235 residents of Niort died, against 6,748 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 8% fewer. Average lifespans in Deux-Sèvres: 85.3 years for women, 79.4 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. For a family doctor, residents of Niort can choose among 61 GPs.
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
61
GPs in Niort · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Niort
0.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Niort
85.3 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Deux-Sèvres, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Protection here reaches back to the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Niort is Château de Niort. Homes from before 1919 make up 11% of the total, between Deux-Sèvres’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B
Niort’s grade for cost of living: a B
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €11.55/m² a month, higher than Deux-Sèvres’ towns (€9.89/m²) yet lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €2,000/m², comes from 2,936 sales of houses and apartments in Niort from July 2023 to June 2026. In Niort, houses go for €2,016/m² and apartments for €1,975/m².
€2,000/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Niort€2,000/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Deux-Sèvres median€1,508/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,016/m²
1,934
Apartments
€1,975/m²
1,002
€11.55/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.97 to €14.88/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.89/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,110
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
89.1% of candidates passed the brevet at the eight collèges within 5 km, 2.6 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For exam results, it comes #17 of 18 in Deux-Sèvres. Near Niort, 95.5% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Deux-Sèvres’ towns (95.8%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). At the four general lycées, 97% of 1,287 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
More people in Niort hold a degree than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns: 39%
Under-15s account for 15% of the population. 13% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (9.6%) and compared French towns (11%). At 43.7, the median resident of Niort sits in the middle of the age range.
43.7median age
NiortDeux-Sèvres medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP22%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education39%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Château de Niort: Photo: Jfpnt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancien hôtel de ville, dit Le Pilori: Photo: Antoine.gacioch · CC BY-SA 3.0
Henri-Georges Clouzot: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Madame de Maintenon: Pierre Mignard I, Public domain · Étienne Capoue: Franziska, CC BY 2.0 · Mathieu Claude: YellowMonkey/Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Thomas Gachignard: Sapin88, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nicolas Crosbie: Ludovic Péron, CC BY-SA 3.0
Niort’s 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 Niort
Is Niort safe?
It grades D for safety, #19 of 21 in Deux-Sèvres. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 371 burglaries and 591 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Niort good?
They grade B−, better than 55% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Niort 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 higher than in most compared French towns, so Niort grades B for cost of living.
About Niort
Commune in Deux-Sèvres, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Niort is a commune of 59,854 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais. 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.
