The picture is mixed. Housing is expensive (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Overall, Rennes earns a C, better than just over a quarter of compared French towns. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A+): 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 55% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Health is a strength too (B+) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for schools and C+ 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 · 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 Rennes 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.
Ancien couvent de Bonne-Nouvelle: Photo: Pymouss44 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Germain: Photo: John Samuel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancienne chapelle Saint-Yves: Photo: Sémhur · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cathédrale Saint-Pierre: Photo: Man vyi · Public domain
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rennes.
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Rennes is easier to get around on foot than 99% of compared French towns
55%walk, cycle or take transit
Half of residents lived on more than €25,100 a year per consumption unit, about level with compared French towns (€25,970) and below Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (€27,550). The unemployment rate comes to 13.8%. For its 99,650 residents in work, Rennes has 156,500 jobs: 1.6 each.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving40%
Public transport29%
Bicycle14%
On foot12%
Motorbike or scooter1%
156,500
jobs based in Rennes, 1.6 per working resident
13.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,100
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 almost every compared French town
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living D
A home in Rennes sells for €3,773/m², more than in Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or compared French towns
€3,773/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Rennes sell for €3,672/m², houses for €4,582/m². The estimated advertised rent is €14.87/m² a month, higher than both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (€12.21/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). 9,355 houses and apartments changed hands here from July 2023 to June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Rennes€3,773/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ille-et-Vilaine median€2,729/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,582/m²
1,271
Apartments
€3,672/m²
8,084
€14.87/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.63 to €19.01/m² a month)
9.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.28/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,280
median annual income per consumption unit, Rennes Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Rennes skews young, with 24% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or compared French towns
30.9median age
53% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 14% of the town, below both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). Rennes has a median age of 30.9.
RennesIlle-et-Vilaine medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma13%
CAP or BEP13%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education53%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 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
Safety
For crime per resident, Rennes sits above 85% of compared French towns
10.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
In all, 7,806 offenses reached the police record in Rennes in 2025. Violence against people ran at 10.3 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 21.8 (2023–2025 average).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage2,466
Theft from vehicles1,879
Other physical violence969
Family violence775
Burglary647
Sexual violence558
Vehicle theft448
Armed robbery64
Theft without violence4,817
Drug use1,790
Fraud1,611
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.
10.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7,806
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth B+
Rennes has a lower adjusted death rate than 68% of compared French towns
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its 23 care homes for older people (1,883 places) count their residents as Rennes’; allowing for them, deaths were 18% below expected. 15,190 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 16,616: 9% below. Life expectancy at birth in Ille-et-Vilaine is 86 years for women and 80.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. The town has 246 family doctors.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw91
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
246
GPs in Rennes · 4.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Regional Universitaire Rennes Pontchaillo
1.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Mutualiste la Sagesse Rennes
86 · 80.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ille-et-Vilaine, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A secteur sauvegardé since 1966, and 98 historic monuments
98historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 1966. Protection here reaches back to the 3rd century. Among the classé monuments in Rennes is Ancien couvent de Bonne-Nouvelle. Houses and mansions, 69 of the 98, make up the bulk.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
88.4% of candidates passed the brevet at the 19 collèges within 5 km, 1.6 points below the expected rate
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Rennes is 94.1%, below Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (97.0%) and close to compared French towns (92.9%). The town’s schools place #67 of 80 in Ille-et-Vilaine on results.
François-Henri Pinault: Leafar, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Clarisse Agbegnenou: AwkwardChester, CC BY-SA 4.0 · René Pleven: Anonymous Unknown author (Keystone France), Public domain · Wilson Isidor: Антон Зайцев, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lesley Ugochukwu: Oscarfan123, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alphonse de Châteaubriant: Anonyme ; photo d'identité de 1946 avec présence de l'agrafe., Public domain
About Rennes
Commune in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany
Rennes is a commune of 230,890 people in the Rennes 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
Population
230,890 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Rennes Métropole
Département
Ille-et-Vilaine (35)
Région
Brittany
Area
19.4 sq mi (50.3 km²)
INSEE code
35238
Rennes’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Rennes
Is Rennes safe?
It grades C− for safety, #71 of 75 in Ille-et-Vilaine. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 647 burglaries and 2,466 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Rennes good?
They grade B−, better than 47% of compared French towns and #67 of 80 in Ille-et-Vilaine. 97% of 317 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Émile Zola in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Rennes expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Rennes grades D for cost of living.
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.
