Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 1,227 people, this town lies in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Health outcomes beat most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 16% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The weak point is schools — bac results 2.3 points below the expected rate; brevet results 4.9 points below the expected rate. At the median price of €1,588/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes de Blaye. Walkability is weaker too (C−): 12% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Cars has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Cars does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Cars 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.
Cars has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Cars: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 11th century; the first monument here was protected in 1921.
30% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cars.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The brevet pass rate near Cars is 84.0%, below Gironde’s towns (89.9%) and compared French towns (87.5%) alike. At the vocational lycée within 5 km, 84% of 87 candidates passed the bac pro. Collège pupils travel 2 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Sébastien VaubanNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 127 | 80%−8 pts |
| Lycée Jaufré RudelNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 328 | 89%−4 pts |
| Lycée professionnel de l'EstuaireBest against expectations: 4 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 87 | 84%+4 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
At the census, 6.5% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Gironde’s towns (11.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%). 500 jobs are based in Cars, for 450 working residents (1.1 per worker). The unemployment rate comes to 10.7%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly one in ten residents, lower than both Gironde’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%). Nearly a quarter of adults hold a degree. Cars has a median age of 50.7 years.
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
| Cars | Gironde median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 30% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 23% | 34% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Gironde median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
126 deaths in Cars between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 150: 16% below. In Gironde, women can expect to live 86.4 years and men 81.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. The nearest emergency department to Cars is Centre hospitalier de la Haute Gironde, 2.1 mi away.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C to A.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,588/m², comes from 32 sales of houses and apartments in Cars from July 2023 to June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €14.09/m² a month, close to Gironde’s towns (€13.75/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 97% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,613/m² | 31 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 11th century. Among the classé monuments in Cars is Église Saint-Pierre.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
2025 saw 18 offenses recorded in Cars. Graded property crimes ran at 15.5 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 5.6 (2023–2025 average). Also worth knowing: in 2025, burglary led the graded crimes locally.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When family violence, other physical violence, 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 (40.7% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Cars. Best known first.
ChâteauCitadelle de Blaye3.8 km west, in Blaye
ChâteauFort Paté4.9 km west, in BlayeChâteauChâteauChâteau des Rudel3.8 km west, in BlayeAttractionAttractionVilla gallo-romaine de Plassac3.7 km southwest, in PlassacMonastery or conventMonastery or conventCouvent des Minimes de Blaye3.8 km west, in BlayeMuseumMuseumMusée3.6 km southwest, in PlassacPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Cars has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Église Saint-Pierre: Photo: Paternel 1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Cars as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | 1,227 | — | — | C+ | — | B |
| Blaye | 5,066 | 1.9 | D− | C+ | D− | C |
| Margaux-Cantenac | 2,845 | 7.3 | A | C+ | A− | A− |
| Pauillac | 5,190 | 8.2 | C− | B | D | C− |
| Macau | 4,576 | 8.5 | A− | C | A− | A− |
| Saint-Savin | 3,582 | 8.6 | B− | B− | A− | C+ |
| Ambès | 3,313 | 9.2 | D | B+ | C | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Cars has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 8 acts of criminal damage.
They grade D, better than 9% of compared French towns. 89% of 328 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Jaufré Rudel in 2025, 4 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,588/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Cars grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Cars is a commune of 1,227 people in the Communauté de communes de Blaye. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.