Where it falls short is safety — an average of 10.6 recorded violent incidents and 24.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Saint-Malo grades C+ overall, better than 44% of compared French towns, and ranks #70 of 75 in Ille-et-Vilaine. Homes are dear: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 91% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 26% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Schools are a strength too (A−): bac results 0.5 points above the expected rate; brevet results at the expected rate.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Saint-Malo 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 Saint-Malo.
History
87 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2003
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 2003. Scaled to its population, that is 18 protected monuments for every 10,000 people in Saint-Malo. Among the classé monuments here is Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Vincent. The protected list starts in the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Saint-Malo gets to work on foot, by bike and by public transport more than Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or compared French towns: 26.2% of commuters
Unemployment is 11.0%. Jobs based in Saint-Malo number 29,700, against 17,350 residents in work (1.7 per worker). The median disposable income was €27,160 a year per consumption unit, close to Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (€27,550) and above compared French towns (€25,970).
26%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
Public transport10%
On foot9%
Bicycle7%
Motorbike or scooter2%
29,700
jobs based in Saint-Malo, 1.7 per working resident
11.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,160
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Saint-Malo than in 90% of compared French towns
In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in Saint-Malo. The town’s tally for 2025: 1,721 recorded offenses.
10.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage668
Family violence233
Other physical violence227
Burglary167
Vehicle theft160
Theft from vehicles144
Sexual violence122
Theft without violence538
Fraud330
Drug use193
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
24.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,721
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 · For armed robbery, 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, under 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living D
Homes in Saint-Malo cost more than in Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or across compared French towns, with a median sale of €4,522/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €13.62/m² a month, above Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (€12.21/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. From July 2023 to June 2026, 2,410 homes were sold in Saint-Malo. Houses made up 36% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
€4,522/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Malo€4,522/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ille-et-Vilaine median€2,729/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,545/m²
878
Apartments
€4,517/m²
1,532
€13.62/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.85 to €17.10/m² a month)
11.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.46/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,880
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint Malo Agglomération
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Saint-Malo skews older, with 35% of residents 65 or over, more than Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns or compared French towns
People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town, lower than both Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Under-15s account for 12% of the population. At 53.9, the median resident of Saint-Malo sits in the middle of the age range.
53.9median age
Saint-MaloIlle-et-Vilaine medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education35%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ille-et-Vilaine 51.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ille-et-Vilaine median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
95.5% of candidates passed the brevet at the five collèges within 5 km, at the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Saint-Malo, 97.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, near Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns (97.0%) and higher than compared French towns (92.9%). The town’s schools place #32 of 80 in Ille-et-Vilaine on results. At the four general lycées, 99% of 795 candidates passed the bac, 0.8 points above the expected rate.
99%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Saint-Malo records 88 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 80 in Ille-et-Vilaine’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
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. France’s death rates at each age would predict 7,018 deaths in Saint-Malo from 2016 to 2025; there were 7,134, 2% more. For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Malo can choose among 83 GPs.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
83
GPs in Saint-Malo · 5.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ghre site Saint Malo Broussais
0.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ghre site Saint Malo Broussais
86 · 80.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ille-et-Vilaine, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Tour Solidor et ouvrages avancés: Photo: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château et fortifications: Photo: W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancien couvent Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, puis caserne des Victoires: Photo: Kamel15 · CC BY-SA 3.0
François-René de Chateaubriand: Anne-Louis Girodet, Public domain · Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis: Robert Tournières, Public domain · Alain Cuny: JPRoche, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Colin Clive: Tiffany Gainsborough and Welsh-Pearson, Public domain · Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne: Charles Meryon, Public domain · Philippe Cattiau: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain
Saint-Malo’s 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 Saint-Malo
Is Saint-Malo safe?
It grades D for safety, #72 of 75 in Ille-et-Vilaine. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 167 burglaries and 668 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Malo good?
They grade A−, better than 83% of compared French towns and #32 of 80 in Ille-et-Vilaine. The lycée stands out: 98% of 120 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Maupertuis in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Malo expensive to live in?
By type: houses €4,545/m² (878 sales), apartments €4,517/m² (1,532 sales). Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Malo grades D for cost of living.
About Saint-Malo
Commune in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany
Saint-Malo is a commune of 47,439 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint Malo Agglomération. 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
47,439 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint Malo Agglomération
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.
