The picture is mixed. Overall, Nantes earns a C, better than 32% of compared French towns. It ranks #78 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Its weakest is safety: an average of 9.7 recorded violent incidents and 25.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A+): 98% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 53% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €3,529/m² costs 8.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Nantes Métropole. Add health to its strengths: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 17% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Nantes 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 Nantes.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
For walkability, Nantes ranks above 98% of compared French towns
13.1% of the labour force are out of work. For its 151,050 residents in work, Nantes has 215,150 jobs: 1.4 each. Half of residents lived on more than €26,720 a year per consumption unit, in line with Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€27,630) and compared French towns (€25,970).
53%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving41%
Public transport29%
Bicycle14%
On foot10%
Motorbike or scooter2%
215,150
jobs based in Nantes, 1.4 per working resident
13.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,720
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 98% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
For crime per resident, Nantes sits above 91% of compared French towns
The commonest graded crime in Nantes was criminal damage (2025). In all, 10,724 offenses reached the police record in the town in 2025.
9.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage2,895
Theft from vehicles2,392
Other physical violence1,457
Burglary1,227
Family violence1,001
Vehicle theft927
Sexual violence753
Armed robbery72
Theft without violence5,736
Fraud2,384
Drug use2,367
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.
9.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
25.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10,724
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living D
Renting in Nantes costs more than in both Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €14.50/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €3,529/m², comes from 13,823 sales of houses and apartments in Nantes from July 2023 to June 2026. In Nantes, houses go for €4,157/m² and apartments for €3,412/m². Among the homes sold, 20% were houses.
€3,529/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Nantes€3,529/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire-Atlantique median€2,844/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,157/m²
2,741
Apartments
€3,412/m²
11,082
€14.50/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.35 to €18.54/m² a month)
8.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.35/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
Who lives here
Nantes is a graduates’ town: 55% hold a degree, more than in both Loire-Atlantique’s towns and compared French towns
Aged 15 to 24: nearly a fifth of residents. Children under 15 make up 16%, lower than both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%). Add to that, over-65s are 14% of the population.
33.3median age
NantesLoire-Atlantique medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
19%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma12%
CAP or BEP14%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education55%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. 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
HealthHealth B+
Nantes’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 66% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Nantes can choose among 384 GPs. Its 42 care homes for older people (3,320 places) count their residents as Nantes’; allowing for them, deaths were 17% below expected. 22,192 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 23,206: 4% below. Average lifespans in Loire-Atlantique: 86.2 years for women, 80.3 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
−17%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted83
Median town88
Expected100
384
GPs in Nantes · 4.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu de Nantes site Hotel Dieu Hopital Mere Enfant
0.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Breteche Viaud
86.2 · 80.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire-Atlantique, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A secteur sauvegardé since 1972, and 130 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Houses and mansions, 104 of the 130, make up the bulk. Since 1972, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. Protection here reaches back to Antiquity. Among the classé monuments in Nantes is Enceinte gallo-romaine (vestiges).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
89.3% of candidates passed the brevet at the 34 collèges within 5 km, 2.5 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Nantes is 95.8%, near Loire-Atlantique’s towns (95.7%) and higher than compared French towns (92.9%). By results, schools here place #65 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Enceinte gallo-romaine (vestiges): Photo: Adam Bishop · Public domain · Porte gallo-romaine, dite du Bastion Saint-Pierre, dépendant de l'ancien évêché: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bâtiment dit La Psallette: Photo: Ab2804 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul: Photo: Eusebius · Public domain
Jules Verne: Nadar, Public domain · Aristide Briand: Henri Manuel, Public domain · Jérémy Toulalan: Jarl93, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Claude Cahun: Claude Cahun, Public domain · Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau: Nadar, Public domain · Ulrich Ramé: TaraO, CC BY 2.5
Nantes’ 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 Nantes
Is Nantes safe?
It grades D for safety, #89 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 1,227 burglaries and 2,895 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Nantes good?
They grade B−, better than 52% of compared French towns and #65 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. 99% of 214 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique privé Saint-Stanislas in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Nantes expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,529/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Nantes grades D for cost of living.
About Nantes
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Nantes is a commune of 327,734 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
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.
