The data are hard on it. Where it falls short is health: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. With a D− overall, Saint-Louis is behind almost every compared French town. At the median price of €2,480/m², a 70 m² home costs 9.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération CIVIS (Communauté Intercommunale des Villes Solidaires). Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 84% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 14% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. It also trails on jobs & income: 0.8 jobs per working resident; 31.8% unemployment.
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.
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-Louis 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.
Aqueduc du Gol: Photo: Psigala · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eglise paroissiale Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire: Photo: Nico AsLi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eglise paroissiale Saint-Louis: Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Temple hindouiste dit Pendiali, situé au Gol: Photo: Nico AsLi · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Louis.
HealthHealth D−
More deaths than Saint-Louis’ ages would predict, 131 per 100 expected, above Réunion’s towns and compared French towns
+31%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
3,578 deaths in Saint-Louis between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 2,678: 34% above. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Louis is Chu site Sud Saint Pierre, 6.9 mi away. There are 63 general practitioners here. Also worth knowing: in Réunion, women can expect to live 84.5 years and men 78.2 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw134
Adjusted131
Median town88
Expected100
63
GPs in Saint-Louis · 8.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu site Sud Saint Pierre
5.3 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
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Saint-Louis goes for €2,500/m², an apartment for €2,272/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €14.47/m² a month, close to Réunion’s towns (€14.14/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Behind the median of €2,480/m²: 541 houses and apartments sold here between July 2023 and June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Louis€2,480/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Réunion median€2,445/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,500/m²
493
Apartments
€2,272/m²
48
€14.47/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.69 to €17.91/m² a month)
9.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.18/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€19,010
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération CIVIS (Communauté Intercommunale des Villes Solidaires)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A town of families: 24% of people in Saint-Louis are under 15, more than in Réunion’s towns and across compared French towns
35.8median age
14% of residents are 15 to 24, above both Réunion’s towns (13%) and compared French towns (11%). People 65 and over make up 13% of the town. Among adults, 16% have a degree.
Saint-LouisRéunion medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma38%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education16%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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
Work & commuteJobs & income D−
Unemployment in Saint-Louis, 31.8%, runs above Réunion’s towns and compared French towns
14%walk, cycle or take transit
The median disposable income was €17,320 a year per consumption unit, below Réunion’s towns (€19,045) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Bus, tram or train carried 5.5% of working residents in Saint-Louis to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot7%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter3%
Bicycle1%
13,700
jobs based in Saint-Louis, 0.8 per working resident
31.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€17,320
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 76% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
75.1% of candidates passed the brevet at the seven collèges within 5 km, 4.6 points above the expected rate
92%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On results, collèges and lycées here come #23 of 24 in Réunion. Near Saint-Louis, 88.8% of lycée candidates passed the bac, below Réunion’s towns (90.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. Collège pupils travel 0.7 mi to the nearest one.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Saint-Louis is higher than in 68% of compared French towns
14.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Violence against people ran at 14.8 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 10.8 (2023–2025 average). All told, Saint-Louis had 1,294 recorded offenses in 2025. Family violence topped the graded crimes in Saint-Louis (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence390
Criminal damage307
Other physical violence240
Sexual violence182
Theft from vehicles96
Vehicle theft54
Burglary25
Drug use313
Theft without violence233
Fraud164
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.
14.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,294
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
8 historic monuments, 1 classé
8historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 19th century. Among the classé monuments in Saint-Louis is Domaine agricole de Maison Rouge, actuellement musée des arts décoratifs de l'Océan Indien (MADOI). Homes from before 1919 make up 0.3% of the total, about level with Réunion’s towns (0.4%) and below compared French towns (7.4%).
Ludovic Grondin: Dadam97490, CC BY-SA 3.0 · William Mounoussamy: Dadam97490, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Saint-Louis
Commune in Réunion
Saint-Louis is a commune of 54,941 people in the Communauté d'agglomération CIVIS (Communauté Intercommunale des Villes Solidaires). 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
54,941 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération CIVIS (Communauté Intercommunale des Villes Solidaires)
Département
Réunion (974)
Area
38.2 sq mi (98.8 km²)
INSEE code
97414
Saint-Louis’ 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-Louis
Is Saint-Louis safe?
It grades C for safety, #19 of 22 in Réunion. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 25 burglaries and 307 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Louis good?
They grade C, better than 25% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Louis expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,480/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Louis 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.
