Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
15- to 24-year-olds are 15% of the population. This town in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine has a population of 26,834.
A tough set of grades. Crime is the sore point: an average of 10.3 recorded violent incidents and 25.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. The local economy is weaker than most (D): 0.8 jobs per working resident; 14.7% unemployment. It is easy to get around without a car: 98% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 39% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €3,077/m²: 70 m² comes to 7.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Bordeaux Métropole. All told, that adds up to a D overall, better than 6% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #95 of 100 in Gironde.
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.
The 2 things Cenon does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Cenon 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Cenon as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancien Magasin des Vivres de la Marine, in Bordeaux, 1.5 mi away.
2.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Museums, other places to visit and heritage in and near Cenon. Best known first.
AttractionCathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux4.8 km southwest, in Bordeaux
MuseumMusée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux5 km west, in Bordeaux
AttractionPlace des Quinconces4.1 km west, in Bordeaux
MuseumBase sous-marine de Bordeaux3.4 km northwest, in Bordeaux
MuseumCité du Vin2.4 km west, in BordeauxPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cenon.
Households’ median disposable income: €21,170 a year per consumption unit. 14.7% of the labour force were unemployed, above both Gironde’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Also worth knowing: at the census, 3.0% of working residents in Cenon didn’t travel to work at all.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The commonest graded crime in Cenon was criminal damage (2025). For 2025, the figures show 963 offenses here.
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 · 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €3,077/m²: 950 houses and apartments sold in Cenon between July 2023 and June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €14.17/m² a month, near Gironde’s towns (€13.75/m²) and higher than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses sell for €3,346/m² here, apartments for €2,982/m².
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,346/m² | 318 |
| Apartments | €2,982/m² | 632 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Cenon is 90.6%, below both Gironde’s towns (93.5%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Vocational results within 5 km: 83% passed the bac pro, of 895 candidates at 9 lycées. Schools rank #75 of 93 in Gironde.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jean ZayNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 146 | 85%−3 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent les IrisNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 281 | 90%−5 pts |
| Collège Casimir FidèleBest against expectations: 11 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 113 | 89%+11 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
16% of residents are 65 or over, below both Gironde’s towns (20%) and compared French towns (22%). Ages in Cenon split evenly at 36.6: half are older, half younger. Children are 17% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
| Cenon | Gironde median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 23% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 19% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 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.
There are 64 general practitioners in Cenon. Its three care homes for older people (257 places) count their residents as Cenon’s; allowing for them, deaths were 15% below expected. 2,041 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 2,115: 4% below. Women in Gironde live to 86.4 on average and men to 81.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
Nothing in Cenon is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
12 notable people were born in Cenon.
Bernard Darniche: Panini, Public domain · Frédéric Da Rocha: Manuel from Nantes / Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Antoine Redin: André Cros, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles Cazalet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Nordine Ganso: Zack Nani, CC BY 3.0 · Xavier Viton: KATIBELLE, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
It grades D for safety, #85 of 100 in Gironde. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 90 burglaries and 355 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C−, better than 21% of compared French towns and #75 of 93 in Gironde. 90% of 281 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent les Iris in 2025, 5 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,077/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Cenon grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Cenon is a commune of 26,834 people in the Bordeaux Métropole. 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 October 30, 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.