Strong in places, weak in others. Its lowest grade is for safety — an average of 13.1 recorded violent incidents and 18.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,444/m² takes 6.4 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Chartres Métropole. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 94% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 37% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, ranking #24 of 30 in Eure-et-Loir. Nationally, it does better than just over a quarter of compared French towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Chartres 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 Chartres.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
A walkable place: Chartres beats 96% of compared French towns on foot
12.5% of the labour force were unemployed, above Eure-et-Loir’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Chartres has 30,400 jobs for 16,150 working residents, 1.9 per worker. At the census, 4.1% of working residents in Chartres didn’t travel to work at all.
37%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving58%
Public transport17%
On foot13%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
30,400
jobs based in Chartres, 1.9 per working resident
12.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,220
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 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1964, and 41 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Chartres is Cathédrale Notre-Dame. This Eure-et-Loir town has 11 protected monuments for every 10,000 residents. Since 1964, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Nearly one in ten homes date from before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Chartres sees more crime per resident than 86% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,133 offenses in Chartres in 2025. The commonest graded crime locally was criminal damage (2025).
13.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage431
Other physical violence201
Family violence163
Sexual violence114
Burglary87
Theft from vehicles68
Vehicle theft63
Armed robbery6
Theft without violence463
Fraud264
Drug use136
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.
13.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,133
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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.
HousingCost of living C
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Chartres than in Eure-et-Loir’s towns or across compared French towns: €13.13/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Chartres: €2,499/m² for houses, €2,421/m² for apartments. Behind the median of €2,444/m²: 1,776 houses and apartments sold locally between July 2023 and June 2026. The sales split: 30% houses, the rest apartments.
€2,444/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Chartres€2,444/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Eure-et-Loir median€1,915/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,499/m²
534
Apartments
€2,421/m²
1,242
€13.13/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.01 to €15.66/m² a month)
6.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.73/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,850
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Chartres Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
84.7% of candidates passed the brevet at the 11 collèges within 5 km, 4.2 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Ranked by results, schools here are #18 of 31 in Eure-et-Loir. At the five general lycées, 97% of 1,547 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Chartres is a graduates’ town: 38% hold a degree, more than in Eure-et-Loir’s towns or compared French towns
The under-15s are 16% of the population here. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town, above both Eure-et-Loir’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%). The middle age in Chartres is 43.1.
43.1median age
ChartresEure-et-Loir medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP19%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education38%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Eure-et-Loir 52.3%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Eure-et-Loir median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B−
Allowing for age and care homes, Chartres sees 88 deaths per 100 expected, against 95 in Eure-et-Loir’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Eure-et-Loir: 84.7 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 4,890 deaths in Chartres between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 4,565: 7% above. For a family doctor, residents of Chartres can choose among 21 GPs.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw107
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
21
GPs in Chartres · 2.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Chartres Louis Pasteur le Coudray
1.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Chartres Louis Pasteur le Coudray
84.7 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Eure-et-Loir, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Jacques Pierre Brissot: François Bonneville, Public domain · Julien Escudé: AhmetDurasufoto, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allison Pineau: Jmex, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve: Auguste Sandoz, dessinateur., Public domain · Pierre Nicole: Unidentified painter, Public domain · Jacqueline de Romilly: Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire), Public domain
Chartres’ 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 Chartres
Is Chartres safe?
It grades D for safety, #27 of 30 in Eure-et-Loir. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 87 burglaries and 431 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Chartres good?
They grade C, better than 33% of compared French towns and #18 of 31 in Eure-et-Loir. 98% of 364 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Marceau in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Chartres expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,444/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Chartres grades C for cost of living.
About Chartres
Commune in Eure-et-Loir, Centre-Val de Loire
Chartres is a commune of 38,324 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Chartres Métropole. 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.
