The data are hard on it. With a D overall, Sainte-Marie is better than just over a tenth of compared French towns and ranks #7 of 22 in Réunion. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 13% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Homes sell for a median €2,461/m²: 70 m² comes to 8.5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Intercommunale du Nord de la Réunion (CINOR). Where it does best is schools (B+) — bac results at the expected rate; brevet results 2.2 points above the expected rate. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 1.1 jobs per working resident; 22.2% unemployment.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · 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 Sainte-Marie 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.
Cheminée dite de "La Mare": Photo: Thierry Caro · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sainte-Marie.
Who lives here
A town of families: 23% of people in Sainte-Marie are under 15, more than in Réunion’s towns or compared French towns
36.1median age
People 65 and over make up just over a tenth of the town, lower than both Réunion’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (22%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 13%. Among adults, 27% have a degree.
Sainte-MarieRéunion medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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
HealthHealth D
More deaths than expected: Sainte-Marie is above 93% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
+13%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
27 GPs practise in Sainte-Marie. Adjusted mortality locally: 113 deaths for every 100 expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,552 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,787, 15% more. The nearest emergency department to Sainte-Marie is Chu site Felix Guyon Saint Denis, 6.4 mi away.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw115
Adjusted113
Median town88
Expected100
27
GPs in Sainte-Marie · 4.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu site Felix Guyon Saint Denis
4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Sainte Clotilde
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.
The median price, €2,461/m², comes from 463 sales of houses and apartments in Sainte-Marie from July 2023 to June 2026. Apartments in Sainte-Marie sell for €2,157/m², houses for €2,895/m². Of the homes sold, 54% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sainte-Marie€2,461/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Réunion median€2,445/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,895/m²
251
Apartments
€2,157/m²
212
€13.46/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.50 to €17.25/m² a month)
8.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.42/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€20,330
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Intercommunale du Nord de la Réunion (CINOR)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
Exam results around Sainte-Marie beat 73% of compared French towns
98%passed the bac (general and technological)B+School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Sainte-Marie, 89.6% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Réunion’s towns (90.8%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). At the vocational lycée within 5 km, 79% of 196 candidates passed the bac pro. Collège pupils travel 0.7 mi to the nearest one.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Incomes in Sainte-Marie come to a median €21,270 a year per consumption unit, against €19,045 in Réunion’s towns and €25,970 in compared French towns
11%walk, cycle or take transit
Unemployment stood at 22.2%, between Réunion’s towns (27.4%) and compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, 5.9% of working residents in Sainte-Marie went to work by public transport.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
Public transport6%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle1%
15,200
jobs based in Sainte-Marie, 1.1 per working resident
22.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,270
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 70% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Sainte-Marie has 4 historic monuments, none of them classé
4historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 0.2% of the total, about level with Réunion’s towns (0.4%) and below compared French towns (7.4%). The earliest of these monuments dates from the 18th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Sainte-Marie has more crime per resident than 56% of compared French towns
12.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
The graded crime recorded most in Sainte-Marie was family violence (2025). Over 2025, Sainte-Marie logged 839 recorded offenses. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 12.3 cases of violence against people and 10.3 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average).
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence240
Criminal damage235
Other physical violence156
Theft from vehicles64
Vehicle theft57
Sexual violence53
Burglary34
Theft without violence181
Drug use164
Fraud129
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.
12.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
839
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 · 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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Pierre Lagourgue: Wizarik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sabine Vergoz-Thirel: Thierry Caro, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Sainte-Marie
Commune in Réunion
Sainte-Marie is a commune of 37,093 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Intercommunale du Nord de la Réunion (CINOR). 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
37,093 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Intercommunale du Nord de la Réunion (CINOR)
Département
Réunion (974)
Area
34.2 sq mi (88.5 km²)
INSEE code
97418
Sainte-Marie’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 Sainte-Marie
Is Sainte-Marie safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #15 of 22 in Réunion. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 34 burglaries and 235 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Sainte-Marie good?
They grade B+, better than 73% of compared French towns and #6 of 24 in Réunion. The lycée stands out: 98% of 245 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique le Verger in 2025, 4 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Sainte-Marie 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 €2,461/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €13.46/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Sainte-Marie 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.
