Bernay grades C+ overall: better than 37% of compared French towns, and #20 of 39 in Eure. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 18.5 recorded violent incidents and 17.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,882/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Intercom Bernay Terres de Normandie. Its strongest is walkability (A): 58% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 29% 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 Bernay 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 Bernay.
Safety
Bernay records more crime per resident than 91% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 348 offenses in the graded categories in Bernay in 2025. Bernay comes 37th of the 39 compared towns in Eure on the Safety Grade. 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, 0.2% of the index here.
18.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage101
Family violence91
Other physical violence64
Sexual violence41
Vehicle theft21
Burglary15
Theft from vehicles15
Drug use116
Theft without violence83
Fraud70
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.
18.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
348
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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
History
11 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2025
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Bernay: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2025. 17% 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
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
28.8% of commuters in Bernay go to work without a car, more than in Eure’s towns and compared French towns
For Bernay, that is above both Eure’s towns (12.7%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment stands at 16.5%. Bernay has 6,800 jobs for 3,600 working residents, 1.9 per worker.
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving66%
On foot17%
Public transport10%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
6,800
jobs based in Bernay, 1.9 per working resident
16.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,080
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 85% of compared French towns
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Bernay’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 74% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,677 residents of Bernay died, against 1,346 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 25% more. Its two care homes for older people (368 places) count their residents as Bernay’s; allowing for them, deaths were 3% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw125
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Bernay · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Bernay
16.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Robert Bisson
84.7 · 78.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Eure, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Children make up only 13% of Bernay, fewer than in Eure’s towns and compared French towns
That puts Bernay below both Eure’s towns (18%) and compared French towns (17%). Over-65s are 29% of the population.
49.2median age
BernayEure medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education23%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Eure 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Eure median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B−
Bernay gets a B− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,882/m², comes from 380 sales of houses and apartments in Bernay from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.01/m² a month, close to Eure’s towns (€11.69/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,882/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bernay€1,882/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Eure median€1,989/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,920/m²
270
Apartments
€1,846/m²
110
€11.01/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.89 to €13.64/m² a month)
5.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.94/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,900
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Intercom Bernay Terres de Normandie
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couture: Photo: Stanzilla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Sainte-Croix: Photo: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison à pans de bois: Photo: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison à pans de bois: Photo: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0
Robert Lindet: Jules Porreau, Public domain · Zakya Daoud: Indif, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Auguste Le Prévost: Jean-Marie Bonnassieux, Public domain · Marion Bunel: Kakoula10, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Laure Lepailleur: NatiSythen, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hervé Delamarre: SKGV, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bernay’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 Bernay
Is Bernay safe?
It grades D for safety, #37 of 39 in Eure. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 15 burglaries and 101 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bernay good?
They grade A−, better than 82% of compared French towns and #2 of 38 in Eure. The lycée stands out: 98% of 302 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Augustin Fresnel 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 Bernay expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,882/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €1,920/m² (270 sales), apartments €1,846/m² (110 sales). Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bernay grades B− for cost of living.
About Bernay
Commune in Eure, Normandy
Bernay is a commune of 9,765 people in the Communauté de communes Intercom Bernay Terres de Normandie. 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
9,765 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Intercom Bernay Terres de Normandie
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.
