Cernay’s grades pull in different directions. Taken together, its subjects give Cernay a B− overall, better than 48% of compared French towns. It ranks #32 of 45 in Haut-Rhin. Residents’ health trails most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 94% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 14% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for cost of living, B− for safety, B for schools and B for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Cernay 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 Cernay.
HealthHealth D−
Deaths in Cernay run above what its ages would predict: 119 per 100 expected, more than Haut-Rhin’s towns or compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
13 GPs practise in Cernay. The nearest emergency department to Cernay is Centre hospitalier de Guebwiller, 7.2 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 1,335 residents of Cernay died, against 1,003 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 33% more. Average lifespans in Haut-Rhin: 85.5 years for women, 80.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
+19%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw133
Adjusted119
Median town88
Expected100
13
GPs in Cernay · 3.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Guebwiller
8.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Diaconat Fonderie
85.5 · 80.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haut-Rhin, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
For walkability, Cernay ranks above 79% of compared French towns
Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €25,440 a year. Cernay has 7,700 jobs for 5,200 working residents, 1.5 per worker. 3.7% of the town’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
14%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving81%
On foot8%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
7,700
jobs based in Cernay, 1.5 per working resident
10.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,440
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 79% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
88.5% of candidates passed the brevet at the four collèges within 5 km, 0.9 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On results, collèges and lycées here come #29 of 51 in Haut-Rhin. The bac pass rate near Cernay is 92.0%, close to both Haut-Rhin’s towns (93.0%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
96%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Cernay has 4 historic monuments, 2 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Cernay is Anciennes fortifications. The oldest protected building goes back to the 13th century. Homes built before 1919 account for 5.8% of the housing.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Cernay skews young, with 11% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Haut-Rhin’s towns or compared French towns
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, below both Haut-Rhin’s towns (22%) and compared French towns (22%). 28% of adults hold a degree. Under-15s account for 16% of the population.
43.1median age
CernayHaut-Rhin medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education28%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Haut-Rhin 51.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haut-Rhin median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B−
The estimated advertised rent of an apartment in Cernay is €12.15/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house rents for an estimated €11.82/m² a month. France’s property-sale records don’t cover Alsace and Moselle, which keep their own land register, so the Cost Grade here uses rent alone.
€12.15/m²estimated apartment rent a month
Estimated advertised apartment rent per m² a month
Cernay€12.15/m²
Median of towns€12.41/m²
Haut-Rhin median€12.78/m²
€12.15/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.12 to €16.19/m² a month)
€11.82/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,240
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de Thann-Cernay
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Cernay is lower than in 53% of compared French towns
The commonest graded crime in Cernay was criminal damage (2025). Each year (2023–2025 average), violence against people came to 10.6 per 1,000 residents and the graded property crimes to 10.1. In all, 269 offenses reached the police record in the town in 2025.
10.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage90
Family violence69
Other physical violence51
Sexual violence30
Theft from vehicles16
Burglary13
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence101
Fraud69
Drug use36
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.
10.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
269
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.5%
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 · For vehicle theft, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.5% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Cernay
Is Cernay safe?
It grades B− for safety, #34 of 45 in Haut-Rhin. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 13 burglaries and 90 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Cernay good?
They grade B, better than 62% of compared French towns and #29 of 51 in Haut-Rhin. 93% of 122 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Amélie Zurcher in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
About Cernay
Commune in Haut-Rhin, Grand Est
Cernay is a commune of 12,057 people in the Communauté de communes de Thann-Cernay. 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.
