Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 21,776 residents in Essonne, Île-de-France.
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge’s grades pull in different directions. Homes are dear (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The town grades C overall and ranks #68 of 91 in Essonne. On that grade it does better than 27% of compared French towns. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 0.5 jobs per working resident; 12.3% unemployment. It is easy to get around without a car: 92% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 38% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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.
The 2 things Saint-Michel-sur-Orge does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Michel-sur-Orge 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 →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église de l'ancienne abbaye, actuellement basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Garde, in Longpont-sur-Orge, 1.2 mi away.
2.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Saint-Michel-sur-Orge. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge.
Unemployment stood at 12.3%, above Essonne’s towns (8.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €25,610 a year. At the census, 33.8% of working residents in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge sell for €2,452/m², houses for €3,246/m². The estimated advertised rent is €16.93/m² a month, near Essonne’s towns (€17.41/m²) and higher than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses accounted for 42% of sales, apartments for the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,246/m² | 212 |
| Apartments | €2,452/m² | 292 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Degrees are held by 36% of adults, lower than Essonne’s towns (39%) yet higher than compared French towns (30%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 15% of residents. Typical age in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge: 36.9, the median.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Michel-sur-Orge | Essonne median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 15% | 16% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 15% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 20% | 20% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 36% | 39% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Essonne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Michel-sur-Orge records 79 deaths per 100 expected, near Essonne’s towns (79) and lower than compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,342 residents of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge died, against 1,567 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 14% fewer. In Essonne, life expectancy at birth reaches 86.4 years for women and 82.2 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 8 GPs practise locally.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, 90.2% passed the bac, about level with Essonne’s towns (91.1%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). By results, schools here place #39 of 94 in Essonne.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Nicolas BoileauNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 175 | 72%−4 pts |
| Lycée Léonard de VinciNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 259 | 93%+2 pts |
| Collège Olivier de SerresBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 105 | 81%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 7.6 violent offenses and 17 graded property crimes a year. In 2025, 487 offenses were recorded in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge. 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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nothing in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge.
Jacques Mourioux: Panini, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Michel-sur-Orge | 21,776 | — | C | C− | C+ | A− |
| Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois | 35,438 | 1 | C− | D | C− | A− |
| Longpont-sur-Orge | 6,482 | 1.5 | C | D | C | A− |
| Le Plessis-Pâté | 4,154 | 1.5 | B | D | B | A− |
| Villiers-sur-Orge | 4,545 | 1.8 | B− | D | C+ | A+ |
| Brétigny-sur-Orge | 26,658 | 1.9 | C− | D | C− | B |
| Fleury-Mérogis | 13,721 | 2.1 | C− | D | C− | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C+ for safety, #48 of 91 in Essonne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 83 burglaries and 175 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 29% of compared French towns and #39 of 94 in Essonne. The lycée stands out: 93% of 259 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Léonard de Vinci 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.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Michel-sur-Orge grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Essonne, Île-de-France
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge is a commune of 21,776 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Cœur d'Essonne Agglomération. 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.
