Schools do well (A−): brevet results 1.6 points above the expected rate. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 2% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. It lags on walkability as well: 2% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. It skews young: only 14% of residents are 65 or over.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Essé 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.
Each subject compares Essé 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 Essé.
Who lives here
Children make up 20% of Essé, above Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns and compared French towns
Degrees are held by a third of adults. People 65 and over make up 14% of the town, below both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). Half of Essé is older than 40.5, half younger.
40.5median age
EsséIlle-et-Vilaine medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma11%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat22%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ille-et-Vilaine 51.2%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ille-et-Vilaine median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
Exam results around Essé beat 83% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The brevet pass rate near Essé is 93.2%, near Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (92.9%) and higher than compared French towns (87.5%). There is no general lycée within 5 km; one lies 13.8 mi away. For collège, the closest is 3 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Fewer commuters in Essé walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or compared French towns: 6.5%
Unemployment stood at 6.9%, below both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (7.4%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Per resident in work, Essé counts 0.3 jobs (150 jobs, 550 workers). 5.9% of the town’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving86%
Public transport3%
On foot2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
150
jobs based in Essé, 0.3 per working resident
6.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,360
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 20% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Essé has a higher adjusted death rate than three in four compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 58 residents of Essé died, against 59 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% fewer. After the care-home adjustment, the town’s deaths ran at 98 per 100 expected, above Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (80) and compared French towns (88) alike. The nearest emergency department to Essé is Chru de Rennes site Hopital Sud, 13.9 mi away. Also worth knowing: in Ille-et-Vilaine, women can expect to live 86 years and men 80.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−2%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw98
Adjusted98
Median town88
Expected100
0
GPs in Essé · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chru de Rennes site Hopital Sud
13.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chru de Rennes site Hopital Sud
86 · 80.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ille-et-Vilaine, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Essé
Is Essé safe?
Essé has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.6 recorded violent incidents and 11.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Are schools in Essé good?
They grade A−, better than 83% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
About Essé
Commune in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany
Essé is a commune of 1,028 people in the Communauté de communes Roche aux Fées Communauté. 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.
