The data are hard on it. Crime is the sore point: an average of 16.3 recorded violent incidents and 26.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 29% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €1,857/m² costs 5.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de Blois «Agglopolys». All told, that adds up to a C− overall, better than 18% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Blois 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 Blois.
Safety
Blois sees more crime per resident than 97% of compared French towns
With 32,600 jobs for 17,200 working residents, Blois draws people in from neighbouring communes. No compared town in Loir-et-Cher has more graded crime per resident than Blois: it ranks last of 22. For 2025, the figures show 1,899 offenses locally. More of the graded crimes in the town were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
16.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage551
Theft from vehicles360
Other physical violence260
Family violence244
Vehicle theft184
Burglary150
Sexual violence139
Armed robbery11
Theft without violence590
Fraud381
Drug use204
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.
16.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
26.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,899
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · 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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Blois has higher unemployment than Loir-et-Cher’s towns or compared French towns: 17.6%
The median disposable income was €21,640 a year per consumption unit, below both Loir-et-Cher’s towns (€24,980) and compared French towns (€25,970). Walking, cycling and public transport carried 28.8% of commuters at the census.
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving66%
Public transport12%
On foot11%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
32,600
jobs based in Blois, 1.9 per working resident
17.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,640
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 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1970, and 70 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Most of the list is houses and mansions: 44 of 70. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1970. For its size, Blois has 15 protected monuments per 10,000 residents. Among the classé monuments in the town is Cathédrale Saint-Louis.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
83.2% of candidates passed the brevet at the eight collèges within 5 km, 2.6 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The town’s schools place #10 of 21 in Loir-et-Cher on results. Near Blois, 92.9% of lycée candidates passed the bac, in line with Loir-et-Cher’s towns (92.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
95%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
INSEE, census 2023 · Loir-et-Cher median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B−
Blois is graded a B− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,857/m², comes from 1,791 sales of houses and apartments in Blois from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.59/m² a month, higher than Loir-et-Cher’s towns (€10.23/m²) yet lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses sell for €1,944/m² locally, apartments for €1,814/m².
€1,857/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Blois€1,857/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loir-et-Cher median€1,606/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,944/m²
625
Apartments
€1,814/m²
1,166
€11.59/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.41 to €14.29/m² a month)
5.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.42/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,520
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Blois «Agglopolys»
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Blois has a higher adjusted death rate than 50% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its six care homes for older people (577 places) count their residents as Blois’; allowing for them, deaths were 12% below expected. 4,611 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 4,636: 1% below. Life expectancy in Loir-et-Cher: 85.2 years for women and 80.5 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 40 GPs practise in the town.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw99
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
40
GPs in Blois · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier
1.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier
85.2 · 80.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loir-et-Cher, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Cathédrale Saint-Louis: Photo: Chatmouettes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Nicolas-Saint-Lomer: Photo: Christophe.Finot · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Cloître Saint-Saturnin dans l'hospice du faubourg de Vienne: Photo: EspéParadis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison de l'Acrobate: Photo: Chatmouettes · CC BY-SA 3.0
Étienne d'Angleterre: Matthew Paris, Public domain · Aly Cissokho: Alejandro Ramos, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Augustin Thierry: Émile Lassalle, Public domain · Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Renée de France: Corneille de Lyon, Public domain · Charles de Blois: André du Chesne, Public domain
Blois’ 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 Blois
Is Blois safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 150 burglaries and 551 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Blois good?
They grade C, better than 27% of compared French towns and #10 of 21 in Loir-et-Cher. 98% of 162 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé Notre-Dame des Aydes in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Blois expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,857/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Blois grades B− for cost of living.
About Blois
Commune in Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
Blois is a commune of 47,219 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Blois «Agglopolys». 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.
