Residents’ health trails most towns (C−). Its strongest is schools (A−): brevet results 4 points above the expected rate. At the median price of €2,168/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Région Nazairienne et de l'Estuaire (CARENE). All told, that adds up to a C+ overall, better than 37% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #76 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique.
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.
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 Donges 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 Donges.
Schools
Schools around Donges do better than those of 82% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the collèges within 5 km of Donges, 89.0% passed the brevet, lower than Loire-Atlantique’s towns (91.6%) and near compared French towns (87.5%). General-bac pupils go 6.9 mi to the nearest lycée. For exam results, it comes #22 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Donges’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 79% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Donges has 3 family doctors. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Donges come to 100 per 100 predicted. From 2016 to 2025, 724 residents of Donges died, against 633 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 14% more. The nearest emergency department to Donges is Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire, 9.4 mi away.
−0%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw114
Adjusted100
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Donges · 2.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire
9.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire
86.2 · 80.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire-Atlantique, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Walking, cycling and public transport carry fewer commuters in Donges than in Loire-Atlantique’s towns or compared French towns: 6.4%
Per resident in work, Donges counts 0.9 jobs (3,500 jobs, 3,850 workers). Half of residents lived on more than €25,630 a year per consumption unit, below Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€27,630) and close to compared French towns (€25,970). Unemployment runs at 8.1%.
6%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving89%
Public transport3%
On foot2%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,500
jobs based in Donges, 0.9 per working resident
8.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,630
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 24% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Donges than in Loire-Atlantique’s towns or across compared French towns: 17% of adults
Children under 15 make up 21%, above both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population. Over-65s are 17% of the population.
38.5median age
DongesLoire-Atlantique medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP38%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education17%
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
Safety
Crime per resident in Donges is higher than in 68% of compared French towns
The graded crime recorded most in Donges was criminal damage (2025). Each year (2023–2025 average), violence against people came to 10.3 per 1,000 residents and the graded property crimes to 15.4. Recorded offenses in the town came to 209 in 2025.
10.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage52
Family violence44
Other physical violence29
Burglary28
Theft from vehicles24
Sexual violence19
Vehicle theft13
Fraud39
Theft without violence26
Drug use21
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.
10.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
209
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 · 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, 0.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living C+
Donges gets a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,168/m², comes from 314 sales of houses and apartments in Donges from July 2023 to June 2026. House rents are put at about €10.95/m² a month. The sales split: 97% houses, the rest apartments.
€2,168/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Donges€2,168/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire-Atlantique median€2,844/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,163/m²
304
€12.26/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.06 to €14.94/m² a month)
5.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.95/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,730
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de la Région Nazairienne et de l'Estuaire (CARENE)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
3 historic monuments in Donges, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Donges is Menhir dit de la Vacherie. The protected list starts in prehistory. On the Culture ministry’s list, Donges counts 3 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 2 inscrit at the second. Homes from before 1919 make up 5.3% of the total.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Donges
Is Donges safe?
It grades C for safety, #73 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 28 burglaries and 52 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Donges good?
They grade A−, better than 82% of compared French towns and #22 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Donges expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,168/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.26/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Donges grades C+ for cost of living.
About Donges
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Donges is a commune of 8,219 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Région Nazairienne et de l'Estuaire (CARENE). 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
8,219 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de la Région Nazairienne et de l'Estuaire (CARENE)
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.
