Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. School results trail most towns: brevet results 10 points below the expected rate. Mer’s overall grade is C−, better than nearly a quarter of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #20 of 22 in Loir-et-Cher. It lags on safety as well (D) — an average of 11.3 recorded violent incidents and 21.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Homes are affordable: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Mer 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Mer runs higher than in 87% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Mer show 203 offenses in 2025. This Loir-et-Cher town comes 21st of the 22 compared towns in Loir-et-Cher on the Safety Grade. Jobs outnumber working residents in Mer (3,600 to 2,500): it draws people in from around. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes here.
11.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage79
Family violence36
Burglary24
Sexual violence18
Theft from vehicles18
Other physical violence16
Vehicle theft12
Fraud42
Theft without violence36
Drug use9
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.
11.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
203
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 · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
HousingCost of living A−
Median price in Mer: €1,595/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.72/m² a month, about level with Loir-et-Cher’s towns (€10.23/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The market in Mer: 209 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026. Houses made up 93% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
€1,595/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Mer€1,595/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loir-et-Cher median€1,606/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,647/m²
195
€9.72/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.99 to €11.84/m² a month)
4.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.62/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,390
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Beauce Val de Loire
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Mer is easier to get around on foot than 77% of compared French towns
Half of residents lived on more than €24,010 a year per consumption unit, about level with Loir-et-Cher’s towns (€24,980) and below compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 15.7% of commuters got to work without a car. Just over a tenth of the labour force are out of work.
16%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot7%
Public transport6%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,600
jobs based in Mer, 1.4 per working resident
11.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,010
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 77% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Mer has 4 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 15% of the total. Among the classé monuments in Mer is Église Saint-Hilaire. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, Mer sees 91 deaths per 100 expected, against 86 in Loir-et-Cher’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Mer is Centre hospitalier, 10.5 mi away. 773 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 724: 7% above. Life expectancy in Loir-et-Cher: 85.2 years for women and 80.5 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw107
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Mer · 3.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
10.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier
9.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Blois
85.2 · 80.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loir-et-Cher, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Children under 15 make up 17%, about level with compared French towns (17%) and above Loir-et-Cher’s towns (15%). A quarter of residents are 65 or over. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
44.4median age
MerLoir-et-Cher medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma26%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loir-et-Cher 52.4%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Mer
Is Mer safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 24 burglaries and 79 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Mer good?
They grade D−, better than 2% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Mer expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Mer grades A− for cost of living.
About Mer
Commune in Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
Mer is a commune of 6,250 people in the Communauté de communes Beauce Val de Loire. 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.
