The picture is mixed. Overall, Carquefou earns a B: better than 62% of compared French towns, and #51 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Jobs and pay hold up well (A+): 2.2 jobs per working resident; 7.4% unemployment. Residents are healthier than most (A−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 23% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. What holds it back is cost of living (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: 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 Carquefou 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.
Château de l'Epinay: Photo: Vincent Valentin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château de la Seilleraye: Photo: Remy TENEN · CC0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carquefou.
HousingCost of living D
Renting in Carquefou costs more than in both Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €15.73/m² a month
€3,333/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €3,333/m², higher than both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€2,844/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). The split in Carquefou: €3,294/m² for houses, €3,419/m² for apartments. Among the homes sold, 62% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Carquefou€3,333/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire-Atlantique median€2,844/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,294/m²
393
Apartments
€3,419/m²
240
€15.73/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€13.11 to €18.87/m² a month)
8.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,840
median annual income per consumption unit, Nantes Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Fewer deaths than Carquefou’s ages would predict, 77 per 100 expected, under Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns
−23%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Carquefou is Chu de Nantes site Hotel Dieu Hopital Mere Enfant, 6.5 mi away. 1,458 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,520: 4% below. In Loire-Atlantique, women can expect to live 86.2 years and men 80.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Carquefou can choose among 17 GPs.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted77
Median town88
Expected100
17
GPs in Carquefou · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu de Nantes site Hotel Dieu Hopital Mere Enfant
3.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Jules Verne Pole hospitalier Mutualiste de Nantes
86.2 · 80.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire-Atlantique, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
More crime per resident in Carquefou than in 72% of compared French towns
7.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
With 21,100 jobs for 9,450 working residents, Carquefou draws people in from neighbouring communes. The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 7.5 violent offenses and 19.5 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. 600 offenses were reported in Carquefou during 2025. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was theft from vehicles (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Theft from vehicles139
Sexual violence101
Burglary101
Criminal damage98
Vehicle theft60
Family violence58
Other physical violence43
Fraud130
Theft without violence129
Drug use20
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.
7.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
19.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
600
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 · 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, 0.1% of the index here. 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.
Who lives here
A young town: 17% of people in Carquefou are 15 to 24, more than in both Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns
39.7median age
48% of adults hold a degree, above Loire-Atlantique’s towns (34%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. Over-65s are 17% of the population. Line up the people of Carquefou by age and the one in the middle is 39.7.
CarquefouLoire-Atlantique medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma11%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education48%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire-Atlantique 51.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire-Atlantique median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
88.6% of candidates passed the brevet at the five collèges within 5 km, 3.4 points below the expected rate
99%passed the bac (general and technological)B+School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Carquefou, 99.0% passed the bac, above both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (95.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Results rank its schools #48 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A+
Incomes in Carquefou run higher than in both Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns: a median €30,820 a year per consumption unit
16%walk, cycle or take transit
At the census, 16.2% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Of those in the labour force, 7.4% are unemployed.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving78%
Public transport9%
Bicycle5%
On foot2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
21,100
jobs based in Carquefou, 2.2 per working resident
7.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€30,820
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 64% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
2 historic monuments, 1 classé
2historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
2.6% of homes date from before 1919. Among the classé monuments in Carquefou is Château de la Seilleraye. Its heritage reaches back to the 17th century.
Charles Harouys: Charles Errard, Public domain · Jules Le Bail: MFonzatti, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Carquefou
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Carquefou is a commune of 20,921 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
Population
20,921 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Nantes Métropole
Département
Loire-Atlantique (44)
Région
Pays de la Loire
Area
16.7 sq mi (43.2 km²)
INSEE code
44026
Carquefou’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 Carquefou
Is Carquefou safe?
It grades C for safety, #76 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 101 burglaries and 98 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Carquefou good?
They grade B+, better than 67% of compared French towns and #48 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. The lycée stands out: 99% of 348 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Carquefou expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Carquefou 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.
