The data are hard on it. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Incomes are on the low side: 0.6 jobs per working resident; 19.3% unemployment. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 80% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 11% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking #11 of 22 in Réunion. On that grade it does better than a tenth of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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 La Possession 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 La Possession.
Who lives here
A town of families: 24% of people in La Possession are under 15, more than in Réunion’s towns or compared French towns
One in ten residents are 65 or over, lower than both Réunion’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (22%). Aged 15 to 24: 12% of residents. Among adults, 33% have a degree.
34.8median age
La PossessionRéunion medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Réunion 51.8%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Réunion median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living D−
Estimated advertised rents run higher in La Possession than in Réunion’s towns or across compared French towns: €15.45/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
At the median, a home went for €2,981/m², above Réunion’s towns (€2,445/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. The split in La Possession: €3,650/m² for houses, €2,802/m² for apartments. Houses were 47% of what sold.
€2,981/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Possession€2,981/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Réunion median€2,445/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,650/m²
324
Apartments
€2,802/m²
362
€15.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€12.27 to €19.46/m² a month)
10.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€16.33/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€20,400
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Territoire de la Côte Ouest (TCO)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
La Possession has a higher adjusted death rate than 72% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, La Possession records 97 deaths per 100 expected, below Réunion’s towns (113) but above compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,482 residents of La Possession died, against 1,411 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% more. At birth, a girl in Réunion can expect 84.5 years and a boy 78.2 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. This Réunion town has 29 family doctors.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw105
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
29
GPs in La Possession · 5.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Ouest Reunion
2.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique les Orchidees
84.5 · 78.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Réunion, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
The median disposable income in La Possession is €23,650 a year per consumption unit, against €19,045 in Réunion’s towns and €25,970 in compared French towns
Nearly a fifth of the labour force are out of work. At the census, 10.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Réunion’s towns (11.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
11%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
Public transport5%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter3%
Bicycle2%
8,200
jobs based in La Possession, 0.6 per working resident
19.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,650
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
2%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 72% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
77.7% of candidates passed the brevet at the six collèges within 5 km, 1.8 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near La Possession is 89.6%, near Réunion’s towns (90.8%) and lower than compared French towns (92.9%). Ranked by results, schools here are #18 of 24 in Réunion. Collège pupils travel 0.8 mi to the nearest one.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)C+School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
4 historic monuments in La Possession, none of them classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 18th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 0.9% of the total, about level with Réunion’s towns (0.4%) and below compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
La Possession ranks below 59% of compared French towns for crime per resident
Violence against people averaged 9 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 10.5. The police record for La Possession lists 655 offenses in 2025. The commonest graded crime here was family violence (2025).
9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearBSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence174
Criminal damage168
Other physical violence104
Sexual violence86
Theft from vehicles60
Vehicle theft39
Burglary24
Fraud115
Theft without violence94
Drug use40
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.
9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
655
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Chemin dit des Anglais: Photo: Tonton Bernardo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Infrastructures ferroviaires: Photo: franek2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lazarets de la Grande Chaloupe (également sur commune de La Possession): Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lazarets de La Grande Chaloupe: Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Possession
Is La Possession safe?
It grades B for safety, #8 of 22 in Réunion. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 24 burglaries and 168 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in La Possession good?
They grade C+, better than 39% of compared French towns and #18 of 24 in Réunion. The lycée stands out: 96% of 295 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Moulin Joli in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is La Possession expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so La Possession grades D− for cost of living.
About La Possession
Commune in Réunion
La Possession is a commune of 36,568 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Territoire de la Côte Ouest (TCO). 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
36,568 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Territoire de la Côte Ouest (TCO)
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.
