A town of contrasts. Health is a weak point: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 2% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The local economy is weaker than most: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 11.5% unemployment. Its strongest subject is safety: an average of 4.3 recorded violent incidents and 10.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At €2,552/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 6.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Pays Bigouden Sud. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, ranking #52 of 59 in Finistère. On that grade it does better than 47% of compared French towns.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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.
Each subject compares Penmarch 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 Penmarch.
Who lives here
Children make up only 9.6% of Penmarch, fewer than in Finistère’s towns and compared French towns
6.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24. People 65 and over make up just over two fifths of the town, above Finistère’s towns (26%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Half of Penmarch is older than 60.8, half younger.
60.8median age
PenmarchFinistère medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
41%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma16%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 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
History
13 historic monuments, more per resident than 96% of compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Scaled to its population, that is 24 protected monuments for every 10,000 people in Penmarch. Part of the town has been protected as a historic area since 1992. The protected list starts in prehistory. Among the classé monuments locally is Deuxième menhir de Kerscaven.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C−
Penmarch’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 82% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Finistère: 84.8 years for women and 79 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. Adjusted mortality in Penmarch: 102 deaths for every 100 expected. From 2016 to 2025, 980 residents of Penmarch died, against 876 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 12% more. Also worth knowing: the nearest emergency department to Penmarch is Hopital Prive Hotel Dieu les Augustines de Pont L Abbe, 7 mi away.
+2%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw112
Adjusted102
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Penmarch · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive Hotel Dieu les Augustines de Pont L Abbe
16.9 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
Recorded crime per resident is lower in Penmarch than in 81% of compared French towns
All told, Penmarch had 75 recorded offenses in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Penmarch (2025).
4.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage27
Burglary19
Other physical violence16
Family violence13
Armed robbery0
Fraud32
Theft without violence21
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.
4.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
75
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
7.7%
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 sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (7.7% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living B−
Penmarch’s grade for cost of living: a B−
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,552/m², comes from 268 sales of houses and apartments in Penmarch from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Penmarch sell for €2,605/m² and apartments for €2,143/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €11.23/m² a month, near Finistère’s towns (€11.55/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€2,552/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Penmarch€2,552/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Finistère median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,605/m²
237
Apartments
€2,143/m²
31
€11.23/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.92 to €14.13/m² a month)
6.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.61/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,870
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays Bigouden Sud
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Penmarch has higher unemployment than Finistère’s towns or compared French towns: 11.5%
At the census, 3.1% of working residents in Penmarch went to work by public transport. The median disposable income is €26,250 a year per consumption unit.
10%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
Bicycle4%
On foot3%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,200
jobs based in Penmarch, 0.7 per working resident
11.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,250
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 47% of compared French towns
Deuxième menhir de Kerscaven: Photo: Christian Duprez · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Menhir anthropomorphique de Kerdeval: Photo: BernardM · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Musée préhistorique à Pors Carn: Photo: Besenbinder · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Premier menhir de Kerscaven: Photo: BernardM · CC BY-SA 4.0
Famous people from Penmarch
Wikidata places 4 people here, but for none of them do the articles confirm Penmarch as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Penmarch
Is Penmarch safe?
It grades A− for safety, #31 of 59 in Finistère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 27 acts of criminal damage.
Is Penmarch 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 €2,552/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Penmarch grades B− for cost of living.
About Penmarch
Commune in Finistère, Brittany
Penmarch is a commune of 5,508 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays Bigouden Sud. 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.
