Much to like here, and you pay for it. Guérande’s overall grade is B+, better than 66% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #46 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Its strongest is jobs & income (A) — 1.2 jobs per working resident; 8.3% unemployment. Health is a strength too (A−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 22% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for safety, B for schools and B− for walkability.
Figures: employment and commuting, 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 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025.
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 Guérande 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.
Dolmen de Sandun: Photo: Poulpy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chapelle Notre-Dame-la-Blanche: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Moulin de Crémeur: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Menhir dit La pierre de Saillé: Photo: TV78 · Public domain
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Guérande.
HousingCost of living C−
Homes in Guérande cost more than in Loire-Atlantique’s towns and across compared French towns, with a median sale of €3,657/m²
€3,657/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Guérande, houses go for €3,556/m² and apartments for €3,872/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €13.45/m² a month, higher than both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€12.75/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 72% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Guérande€3,657/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire-Atlantique median€2,844/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,556/m²
451
Apartments
€3,872/m²
173
€13.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.86 to €16.67/m² a month)
9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.72/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€28,430
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de la Presqu'île de Guérande Atlantique (Cap Atlantique)
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1976, and 12 historic monuments
12historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Guérande counts 7.1 protected monuments. A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 1976. Its oldest listed monument dates from prehistory. Among the classé monuments in the town is Dolmen de Sandun.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth A−
Fewer deaths than Guérande’s ages would predict, 78 per 100 expected, under Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns
−22%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Loire-Atlantique: 86.2 years for women, 80.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. 1,666 deaths in Guérande between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,819: 8% below. Also worth knowing: the nearest emergency department to Guérande is Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire, 8.8 mi away. 24 GPs practise in the town.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted78
Median town88
Expected100
24
GPs in Guérande · 5.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire
8.8 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
Children make up only 14% of Guérande, fewer than in Loire-Atlantique’s towns and across compared French towns
50.7median age
Among adults, 37% have a degree. 28% of residents are 65 or over, above Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.5% of residents.
GuérandeLoire-Atlantique medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma13%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education37%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire-Atlantique 51.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire-Atlantique median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
93.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the three collèges within 5 km, 0.7 points above the expected rate
97%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On results, collèges and lycées here come #57 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. At the two general lycées, 97% of 300 candidates passed the bac, a point below the expected rate.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Guérande has more crime per resident than 57% of compared French towns
7.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Guérande has 8,650 jobs for 7,200 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. In all, 325 offenses reached the police record here in 2025. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage110
Burglary55
Family violence41
Other physical violence33
Vehicle theft33
Sexual violence29
Theft from vehicles24
Fraud123
Theft without violence104
Drug use25
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.
7.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
325
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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, 0.2% 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income A
Guérande is graded an A for jobs & income
11%walk, cycle or take transit
Households’ median disposable income: €28,630 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 8.3%, between Loire-Atlantique’s towns (7.2%) and compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, 4.0% of working residents in Guérande didn’t travel to work at all.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
On foot5%
Bicycle3%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
8,650
jobs based in Guérande, 1.2 per working resident
8.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€28,630
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 50% of compared French towns
Guérande is a commune of 16,804 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Presqu'île de Guérande Atlantique (Cap Atlantique). 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
16,804 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de la Presqu'île de Guérande Atlantique (Cap Atlantique)
Département
Loire-Atlantique (44)
Région
Pays de la Loire
Area
31.5 sq mi (81.6 km²)
INSEE code
44069
Guérande’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 Guérande
Is Guérande safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #60 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 55 burglaries and 110 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Guérande good?
They grade B, better than 61% of compared French towns and #57 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. 95% of 153 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Galilée in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Guérande expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Guérande grades C− 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.
