Dourdan grades C overall: better than 34% of compared French towns, and #60 of 91 in Essonne. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is walkability (A): 86% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 36% 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 Dourdan 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 Dourdan.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
More commuters in Dourdan walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Essonne’s towns or compared French towns: 35.6%
On this, Dourdan is above both Essonne’s towns (25.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment stands at 11.2%. Dourdan has 5,450 jobs for 5,000 working residents, 1.1 per worker.
36%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving59%
Public transport20%
On foot14%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,450
jobs based in Dourdan, 1.1 per working resident
11.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,380
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 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
Renting in Dourdan costs an estimated advertised €15.54/m² a month, against €17.41/m² in Essonne’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,937/m², comes from 323 sales of houses and apartments in Dourdan from July 2023 to June 2026. In Dourdan, houses go for €2,915/m² and apartments for €2,980/m².
€2,937/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Dourdan€2,937/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Essonne median€3,237/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,915/m²
160
Apartments
€2,980/m²
163
€15.54/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€13.33 to €18.13/m² a month)
6.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€13.50/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€29,690
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Le Dourdannais en Hurepoix (CCDH)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
7 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2014
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Dourdan: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2014. 12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for France
13% of residents are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over, against 12% and 16% in the median compared commune of Essonne. 35% of adults who have left education hold a higher-education diploma (Essonne 39%, France 30%).
40.6median age
DourdanEssonne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education35%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Essonne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Dourdan has more crime per resident than 67% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 248 offenses in the graded categories in Dourdan in 2025. 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, 0.6% of the index here.
11.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage69
Family violence54
Other physical violence46
Vehicle theft29
Sexual violence20
Burglary18
Theft from vehicles12
Drug use87
Fraud73
Theft without violence62
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.
11.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
248
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.6%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Allowing for age and care homes, Dourdan sees 89 deaths per 100 expected, against 79 in Essonne’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,150 residents of Dourdan died, against 1,022 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 13% more. Its three care homes for older people (223 places) count their residents as Dourdan’s; allowing for them, deaths were 11% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw113
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Dourdan · 1.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Sud Essonne Dourdan Etampes site Dourdan
9.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Sud Essonne Dourdan site Etampes
86.4 · 82.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Essonne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Église Saint-Germain: Photo: Caroline Léna Becker · CC BY 4.0 · Vieille porte accolée à la façade droite de l'église: Photo: Marianne Casamance · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hôtel-Dieu, actuellement centre hospitalier: Photo: Cyrilb1881 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Petite ferme: Photo: Lionel Allorge · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tony Gallopin: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Carreira: SIC, CC BY 3.0 · Marie Poussepin: Benito Pérez Galdós, Public domain · Mickael Carreira: Web Summit, CC BY 2.0 · Paul-Loup Chatin: Henry Mineur, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roger-Maurice Bonnet: Guy Lebègue, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dourdan’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 Dourdan
Is Dourdan safe?
It grades C for safety, #56 of 91 in Essonne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 18 burglaries and 69 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Dourdan good?
They grade C+, better than 42% of compared French towns and #19 of 94 in Essonne. The lycée stands out: 97% of 445 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Nikola Tesla in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Dourdan expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,937/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Dourdan grades C− for cost of living.
About Dourdan
Commune in Essonne, Île-de-France
Dourdan is a commune of 11,415 people in the Communauté de communes Le Dourdannais en Hurepoix (CCDH). 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
11,415 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Le Dourdannais en Hurepoix (CCDH)
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.
