Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Its weakest is safety — an average of 13.6 recorded violent incidents and 25.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Carhaix-Plouguer’s overall grade, C, puts it better than 30% of compared French towns. It also trails on health (C): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 4% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−): 83% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 18% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Cost of living is a strength too: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Carhaix-Plouguer 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 Carhaix-Plouguer.
Safety
Carhaix-Plouguer sees more crime per resident than 95% of compared French towns
Over 2025, Carhaix-Plouguer logged 274 recorded offenses. The town ranks last of the 59 compared towns in Finistère on the Safety Grade. It has 5,950 jobs for 2,600 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Of the graded crimes in the town, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
13.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage99
Other physical violence42
Sexual violence36
Family violence34
Burglary34
Theft from vehicles20
Vehicle theft9
Drug use309
Theft without violence130
Fraud28
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.
13.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
25.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
274
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.2% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
History
Carhaix-Plouguer is rich in protected monuments: 11 per 10,000 residents, more than in Finistère’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes built before 1919 account for 4.1% of the housing. Among the classé monuments in Carhaix-Plouguer is Aqueduc romain. This Finistère town has 8 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 4 classé, the highest protection, and 4 inscrit, the second level. Protection here reaches back to the 1st century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Unemployment in Carhaix-Plouguer, 13.6%, runs above Finistère’s towns and compared French towns
Half of residents lived on more than €23,740 a year per consumption unit, below both Finistère’s towns (€26,720) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, nearly a fifth of commuters got to work without a car.
18%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot15%
Bicycle2%
Public transport1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,950
jobs based in Carhaix-Plouguer, 2.3 per working resident
13.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,740
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 83% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Carhaix-Plouguer are 65 or over, more than in Finistère’s towns and across compared French towns
One measure of family life: just over one in ten residents are under 15. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town, above Finistère’s towns (9.3%) and close to compared French towns (11%). Graduates make up 25% of adults.
52.2median age
Carhaix-PlouguerFinistère medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Finistère 51.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Finistère median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B+
Homes in Carhaix-Plouguer cost less than in Finistère’s towns and across compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,311/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Carhaix-Plouguer is the second cheapest of the 91 towns in Finistère, at €1,311/m². Apartments in Carhaix-Plouguer sell for €1,466/m², houses for €1,300/m². The estimated advertised rent is €10.43/m² a month, below Finistère’s towns (€11.55/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike.
€1,311/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Carhaix-Plouguer€1,311/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Finistère median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,300/m²
273
Apartments
€1,466/m²
37
€10.43/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.20 to €13.28/m² a month)
3.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.48/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,300
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Poher communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Adjusted for age and care homes, Carhaix-Plouguer sees more deaths than 72% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Carhaix-Plouguer come to 96 per 100 predicted. 1,330 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,099: 21% above. Average lifespans in Finistère: 84.8 years for women, 79 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. The town has 8 family doctors.
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw121
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Carhaix-Plouguer · 4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chru Brest site Hopital de Carhaix
0.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chru Brest site Hopital de Carhaix
84.8 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Finistère, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Aqueduc romain: Photo: GO69 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne église de Saint-Tremeur: Photo: Moreau.henri · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison du 16e siècle, dite maison du Sénéchal: Photo: Moreau.henri · CC BY-SA 3.0
Claude Michel: Schlesiermann, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sandra Levenez: L'HARIDON, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jonathan Atsu: Glaz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Amand Félix Marie Jobbé-Duval: Marius Rouffiac, Public domain · Arsène Lambert: Henri MOREAU, Public domain · Julien Mahé: Bigmatbasket, CC BY-SA 4.0
Carhaix-Plouguer’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 Carhaix-Plouguer
Is Carhaix-Plouguer safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 34 burglaries and 99 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Carhaix-Plouguer good?
They grade C+, better than 39% of compared French towns and #59 of 63 in Finistère. The lycée stands out: 99% of 80 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Diwan in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Carhaix-Plouguer expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Carhaix-Plouguer grades B+ for cost of living.
About Carhaix-Plouguer
Commune in Finistère, Brittany
Carhaix-Plouguer is a commune of 7,412 people in the Communauté de communes Poher communauté. 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.
