Several subjects drag its grade down. Homes are dear (D−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 14 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. With a D− overall, Saint-Leu is better than 4% of compared French towns and ranks #18 of 22 in Réunion. Where it does best is walkability — 64% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 10% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 29.6% unemployment. Health lags (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 9% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety and B− for schools.
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 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Saint-Leu 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-Leu.
HousingCost of living D−
A home in Saint-Leu sells for €4,071/m², more than in Réunion’s towns or compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Saint-Leu, houses go for €3,790/m² and apartments for €4,437/m². The town is the second most expensive of the 24 towns in Réunion, at €4,071/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €16.49/m² a month, above Réunion’s towns (€14.14/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike.
€4,071/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Leu€4,071/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Réunion median€2,445/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,790/m²
335
Apartments
€4,437/m²
170
€16.49/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.78 to €23.09/m² a month)
14
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.79/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 D
Saint-Leu records 109 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 113 in Réunion’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Saint-Leu is Centre hospitalier Ouest Reunion, 14.5 mi away. 2,047 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,869: 10% above. Women in Réunion live to 84.5 on average and men to 78.2 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. The town has 47 family doctors.
+9%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw110
Adjusted109
Median town88
Expected100
47
GPs in Saint-Leu · 5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Ouest Reunion
14.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Durieux
84.5 · 78.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Réunion, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A younger town: only 14% of residents are 65 or over
People aged 15 to 24 are 12% of the population. Children under 15 make up 20%, about level with Réunion’s towns (21%) and above compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
39.6median age
Saint-LeuRéunion medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma32%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Réunion 51.8%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Réunion median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Saint-Leu: 5 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 0.8% of the total, close to Réunion’s towns (0.4%) and below compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Saint-Leu is Église des Colimaçons. The protected list starts in the 18th century. Most of the list is industrial sites: 3 of 5.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income D−
Saint-Leu has higher unemployment than Réunion’s towns or compared French towns: 29.6%
Half of residents lived on more than €19,680 a year per consumption unit, close to Réunion’s towns (€19,045) and below compared French towns (€25,970). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 10.5% of commuters travelled at the census. At the census, 4.2% of working residents in Saint-Leu didn’t travel to work at all.
10%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot5%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle1%
9,150
jobs based in Saint-Leu, 0.7 per working resident
29.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€19,680
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 60% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Leu ranks above 52% of compared French towns for crime per resident
In 2025, family violence led the graded crimes in Saint-Leu. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 12 cases of violence against people and 9.7 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). The police record for Saint-Leu lists 821 offenses in 2025.
12recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence250
Criminal damage236
Other physical violence141
Sexual violence91
Vehicle theft45
Theft from vehicles37
Burglary21
Theft without violence190
Fraud140
Drug use69
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.
12
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
821
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.2% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
79.2% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 2.1 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Saint-Leu, 94.6% of lycée candidates passed the bac, above both Réunion’s towns (90.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%). The closest collège is 2.2 mi off. Its schools’ results rank #12 of 24 in Réunion.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Hôtel des Postes: Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Four à chaux: Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cheminée dite "Le Portail": Photo: Perocheau · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église des Colimaçons: Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Leu
Is Saint-Leu safe?
It grades B− for safety, #12 of 22 in Réunion. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 21 burglaries and 236 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Leu good?
They grade B−, better than 50% of compared French towns and #12 of 24 in Réunion. The lycée stands out: 98% of 208 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Gérard Ethève 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-Leu expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Leu grades D− for cost of living.
About Saint-Leu
Commune in Réunion
Saint-Leu is a commune of 36,163 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
36,163 (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.
