Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Housing is within reach: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is strong on health as well — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 18% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The local economy is weaker than most (D): 1.2 jobs per working resident; 16.0% unemployment. All told, that adds up to a B overall, better than 64% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #24 of 37 in Indre-et-Loire.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023.
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 Descartes 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 Descartes.
HousingCost of living A+
Renting in Descartes costs less than in Indre-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €7.57/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Descartes is the cheapest of the 47 towns in Indre-et-Loire: its median sale is €1,123/m². 183 sales of houses and apartments here, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,123/m². Of the homes sold, 90% were houses.
€1,123/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Descartes€1,123/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Indre-et-Loire median€2,465/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,147/m²
164
€7.57/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.05 to €9.48/m² a month)
3.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.83/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,560
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Loches Sud Touraine
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Descartes: 20% were built before 1919, more than in Indre-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Descartes counts 15 protected monuments, above both Indre-et-Loire’s towns (7.3) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments here is Dolmen dit Chillon du Feuillet. The protected list starts in prehistory. 3 of the 5 are churches, chapels and other religious buildings.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Descartes skews older, with 37% of residents 65 or over, more than Indre-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. 13% are under 15, below both Indre-et-Loire’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). The median resident of Descartes is 56.2 years old.
56.2median age
DescartesIndre-et-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education16%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre-et-Loire 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Indre-et-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
For crime per resident, Descartes sits above 81% of compared French towns
Violence against people averaged 16 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 13.9. Police and gendarmerie recorded 96 offenses in Descartes in 2025. This Indre-et-Loire town has 1,300 jobs for 1,050 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. In 2025, family violence led the graded crimes in the town.
16recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence25
Criminal damage25
Burglary17
Sexual violence13
Other physical violence11
Theft from vehicles5
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence22
Fraud21
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.
16
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
96
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
3.3%
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, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 3.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Descartes has higher unemployment than Indre-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 16.0%
Median disposable income comes to €22,480 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 2.9% of working residents in Descartes went to work by public transport.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot6%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,300
jobs based in Descartes, 1.2 per working resident
16.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,480
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 68% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than expected: Descartes is below 67% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (22 places) counts its residents as Descartes’; allowing for it, deaths were 18% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 481 residents of Descartes died, against 565 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 15% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Descartes is Chu de Poitiers site Chatellerault, 12.1 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of Descartes can choose among 7 GPs.
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw85
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Descartes · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
12.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu de Poitiers site Chatellerault
12.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chu de Poitiers site Chatellerault
86.1 · 81
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Indre-et-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Dolmen dit Chillon du Feuillet: Photo: Joël Thibault · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancienne église Notre-Dame de la Haye: Photo: Joël Thibault · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église paroissiale Saint-Georges de La-Haye-Descartes: Photo: Joël Thibault · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maison natale de Descartes, actuellement Musée Descartes: Photo: Jihelpé · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Descartes
Is Descartes safe?
It grades C− for safety, #29 of 37 in Indre-et-Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 17 burglaries and 25 acts of criminal damage.
Is Descartes expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,123/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Descartes grades A+ for cost of living.
About Descartes
Commune in Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
Descartes is a commune of 3,369 people in the Communauté de communes Loches Sud Touraine. 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.
