Strong in places, weak in others. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 4% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Taken together, its subjects give Douarnenez a B− overall, better than nearly half of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #50 of 59 in Finistère. Schools do well (A+): bac results 2.6 points above the expected rate; brevet results 4.6 points above the expected rate. At the median price of €2,284/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Douarnenez Communauté. Walkability is another plus: 86% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: 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.
Each subject compares Douarnenez 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 Douarnenez.
Schools
Brevet results near Douarnenez run high: 96.6% passed, above Finistère’s towns and compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Douarnenez is 98.6%, above both Finistère’s towns (96.9%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Vocational results within 5 km: 95% passed the bac pro, of 38 candidates. School results put the town #5 of 63 in Finistère.
100%passed the bac (general and technological)A+School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Unemployment in Douarnenez, 14.2%, runs above Finistère’s towns and compared French towns
The median disposable income was €24,530 a year per consumption unit, below Finistère’s towns (€26,720) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Per resident in work, Douarnenez counts 1.4 jobs (6,750 jobs, 4,900 workers). The census found just over a fifth of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving71%
On foot11%
Public transport6%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter2%
6,750
jobs based in Douarnenez, 1.4 per working resident
14.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,530
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 89% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Douarnenez skews older, with 35% of residents 65 or over, more than in Finistère’s towns and across compared French towns
10% are under 15, below both Finistère’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 7.6% of the town. The median resident of Douarnenez is 55.6 years old.
55.6median age
DouarnenezFinistère medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 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
HealthHealth C−
More deaths than expected: Douarnenez is above 85% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its four care homes for older people (281 places) count their residents as Douarnenez’s; allowing for them, deaths were 4% above expected. From 2016 to 2025, 2,514 residents of Douarnenez died, against 2,161 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 16% more. At birth, a girl in Finistère can expect 84.8 years and a boy 79 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. For a family doctor, residents of Douarnenez can choose among 18 GPs.
+4%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw116
Adjusted104
Median town88
Expected100
18
GPs in Douarnenez · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Douarnenez
13.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Intercommunal de Cornouaille Quimper
84.8 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Finistère, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Douarnenez is Temple celto-romain du type fanum, dénommé Temple de Trogouzel. Most of the list is churches, chapels and other religious buildings: 6 of 8. Protection here reaches back to the 1st century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living C+
Douarnenez’s grade for cost of living: a C+
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €2,284/m²: 651 houses and apartments sold in Douarnenez between July 2023 and June 2026. In Douarnenez, houses go for €2,222/m² and apartments for €2,353/m². The sales split: 64% houses, the rest apartments.
€2,284/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Douarnenez€2,284/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Finistère median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,222/m²
417
Apartments
€2,353/m²
234
€11.57/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.14 to €14.63/m² a month)
6.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.35/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,830
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Douarnenez Communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Douarnenez has more crime per resident than 62% of compared French towns
The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 7.5 violent offenses and 16.6 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. Douarnenez’s tally for 2025: 310 recorded offenses. Among the graded crimes locally, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
7.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage153
Other physical violence52
Family violence24
Burglary22
Sexual violence21
Vehicle theft19
Theft from vehicles19
Theft without violence107
Fraud81
Drug use39
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.
7.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
310
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Port-musée de Douarnenez and 6 more in and around Douarnenez
Museums and heritage in and near Douarnenez. Best known first.
Romain Danzé: S. Plaine, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ronan Pensec: Eric HOUDAS, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Émile-Joseph-Maurice Chevé: Atelier Nadar, Public domain · Charles Daniélou: Agence Meurisse (domaine public, voir notice détaillée), Public domain · Jérémy Bescond: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick, CC BY-SA 3.0 · René Quéré: René Quéré, CC BY-SA 4.0
Douarnenez’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 Douarnenez
Is Douarnenez safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #52 of 59 in Finistère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 153 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Douarnenez good?
They grade A+, better than 96% of compared French towns and #5 of 63 in Finistère. The lycée stands out: 100% of 96 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Jean-Marie Le Bris 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 Douarnenez 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 €2,284/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.57/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Douarnenez grades C+ for cost of living.
About Douarnenez
Commune in Finistère, Brittany
Douarnenez is a commune of 14,068 people in the Communauté de communes Douarnenez 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.
