Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,613 people live in this town in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
Gaël’s strongest subject is cost of living (A−) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is hard to get around without a car (C−): 45% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 5% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Residents’ health trails most towns (C+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 7% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Homes change hands at a median €1,471/m².
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Gaël 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 one thing Gaël does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Gaël 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.
Gaël has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Gaël as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne abbaye Saint-Méen, in Saint-Méen-le-Grand, 4.4 mi away.
33% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gaël.
7.4% of people in the labour force have no job. At the census, 4.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (12.9%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Jobs located in Gaël: 550, for 750 residents in work (0.8 each).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Of the homes sold, 86% were houses. 65 houses and apartments changed hands in Gaël from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,452/m² | 56 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Ille-et-Vilaine: 86 years for women and 80.9 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 166 deaths in Gaël between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 150: 11% above. The nearest emergency department to Gaël is Centre hospitalier Alphonse Guerin Ploermel, 15.5 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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to B+.
The age that splits Gaël in two is 43.7. The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, lower than Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (11%) and near compared French towns (11%). Under-15s account for 18% of the population.
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ille-et-Vilaine 51.2%, France 51.8%.
| Gaël | Ille-et-Vilaine median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 19% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 19% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 23% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 23% | 39% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ille-et-Vilaine median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Gaël is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Gaël 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaël | 1,613 | — | — | A− | — | C+ |
| Saint-Méen-le-Grand | 4,653 | 4.4 | B+ | B+ | B− | B− |
| Mauron Morbihan | 3,163 | 4.7 | C | B+ | B+ | C |
| Iffendic | 4,609 | 9 | — | B+ | — | A− |
| Montauban-de-Bretagne | 6,597 | 9.5 | A | C+ | B+ | B |
| Merdrignac Côtes-d'Armor | 3,139 | 9.6 | A− | A− | B− | B+ |
| Plélan-le-Grand | 4,076 | 11 | B | B− | B− | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Gaël has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.1 recorded violent incidents and 7.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Gaël grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany
Gaël is a commune of 1,613 people in the Communauté de communes de Saint-Méen Montauban. 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.