Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 2,709 residents, it is a town in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire.
Where it does best is health — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 24% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. It is strong on schools as well (A−): bac results at the expected rate; brevet results at the expected rate. Homes are dear: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Brains has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Brains 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.
Brains has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The 2 things Brains does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Brains as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Chapelle de Bethléem, in Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau, 1.9 mi away.
Explore the history →Nothing in Brains is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Brains.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Brains is L Hopital Prive du Confluent, 8.7 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 157 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 119, 24% fewer. Life expectancy at birth in Loire-Atlantique is 86.2 years for women and 80.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Brains can choose among 2 GPs.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · That adjustment for care homes is a model of TownRatings’ own, not official data. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from B− to A.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Brains is 98.0%, above Loire-Atlantique’s towns (95.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. The closest collège is 2.1 mi off. Ranked by results, schools here are #31 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège BellestreNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 162 | 90%−3 pts |
| Lycée Alcide d'OrbignyNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 358 | 98%±0 pts |
| Collège Sainte-Philomène PrivateBest against expectations: 3 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 154 | 99%+3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Degrees are held by 39% of adults. Children under 15 make up 19%, about level with Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and above compared French towns (17%). The median resident of Brains is 43.7 years old.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire-Atlantique 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Brains | Loire-Atlantique median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 16% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 8.1% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 28% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 39% | 34% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire-Atlantique median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Estimated advertised rent for houses: €11.09/m² a month. That is the middle of 65 sales of houses and apartments in Brains from July 2023 to June 2026, against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns and €2,844/m² for the median of compared towns in Loire-Atlantique.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,845/m² | 65 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
7.2% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Loire-Atlantique’s towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Brains holds 300 jobs; 1,350 of its residents are in work, so 0.2 jobs each. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €29,020 a year.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Brains. Best known first.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Brains yet.
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Brains is a commune of 2,709 people in the Nantes Métropole. 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
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brains | 2,709 | — | — | C | — | A− |
| Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau | 6,067 | 1.7 | B | C | A− | B− |
| La Montagne | 6,505 | 2.5 | B+ | C | C+ | B+ |
| Le Pellerin | 5,319 | 2.7 | C+ | C | B− | B− |
| Port-Saint-Père | 3,059 | 2.8 | B | C− | B− | B+ |
| Bouaye | 8,343 | 2.9 | B+ | C− | B− | A− |
| Couëron | 24,103 | 3.6 | B | C | B− | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Brains has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.2 recorded violent incidents and 7.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A−, better than 75% of compared French towns and #31 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.59/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Brains grades C for cost of living.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.