Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, this town has 22,153 residents. People aged 65 and over make up 31% of residents.
Gujan-Mestras’s standout strength is health (B+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Overall, Gujan-Mestras earns a B: better than 58% of compared French towns, and #37 of 100 in Gironde. What holds it back is cost of living (D) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools and B for jobs & income.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment, INSEE census 2023.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Gujan-Mestras does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Gujan-Mestras 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 Gujan-Mestras as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Substructions gallo-romaines, in Andernos-les-Bains, 7.8 mi away.
2.5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Other places to visit, family days out and heritage in and near Gujan-Mestras. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gujan-Mestras.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €15.12/m² a month, higher than both Gironde’s towns (€13.75/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The split in Gujan-Mestras: €4,695/m² for houses, €4,167/m² for apartments. Houses are advertised at an estimated €14.65/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,695/m² | 746 |
| Apartments | €4,167/m² | 211 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Degrees are held by 35% of adults. People 65 and over make up 31% of the town, above both Gironde’s towns (20%) and compared French towns (22%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Gujan-Mestras | Gironde median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.7% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 31% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 34% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Gironde median and France median: the median of compared communes
For its 8,800 residents in work, Gujan-Mestras has 5,550 jobs: 0.6 each. 14.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Gironde’s towns (11.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,596 deaths in Gujan-Mestras from 2016 to 2025; there were 2,236, 14% fewer. Its two care homes for older people (164 places) count their residents as Gujan-Mestras’; allowing for them, deaths were 19% below expected. 24 GPs practise here. Average lifespans in Gironde: 86.4 years for women, 81.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic.
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 6.6 violent offenses and 11.6 graded property crimes a year. Police and gendarmerie figures for Gujan-Mestras show 375 offenses in 2025. Also worth knowing: the commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
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 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.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On results, collèges and lycées here come #45 of 93 in Gironde. At the general lycée, 96% of 238 candidates passed the bac, a point below the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Chante CigaleNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 197 | 93%±0 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent de la merNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 238 | 96%−1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Gujan-Mestras is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
5 notable people were born in Gujan-Mestras.
Michèle Alfa: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Pierre Dignac: Agence de presse Mondial Photo-Presse, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gujan-Mestras | 22,153 | — | B | D | B+ | B+ |
| Le Teich | 9,180 | 2.6 | B− | C− | A | C+ |
| La Teste-de-Buch | 27,566 | 3.7 | C− | D | C− | B |
| Arcachon | 11,092 | 4.7 | C | D− | D− | A− |
| Biganos | 11,431 | 5.5 | B | C− | B− | C+ |
| Audenge | 9,596 | 5.5 | B+ | C− | A− | B |
| Lanton | 7,337 | 6.1 | A− | D | A | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B+ for safety, #35 of 100 in Gironde. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 27 burglaries and 111 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 48% of compared French towns and #45 of 93 in Gironde. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Gujan-Mestras grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Gujan-Mestras is a commune of 22,153 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Bassin d'Arcachon Sud (COBAS). 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.