Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire has a population of 28,534.
Orvault does the important things well, at a cost. Households here earn well: 1.1 jobs per working resident; 8.8% unemployment. Its overall grade of B+ puts it better than 74% of compared French towns, #31 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 90% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 29% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Crime runs high: an average of 5.9 recorded violent incidents and 18.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Orvault 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Orvault, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 18th century; the first monument here was protected in 2011.
1.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Orvault has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Château de la Morlière: Photo: Amaury Bouchet · CC BY-SA 3.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Orvault.
Half of residents lived on more than €30,410 a year per consumption unit, above both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€27,630) and compared French towns (€25,970). Of those in the labour force, 8.8% are unemployed. Also worth knowing: at the census, 19.2% of working residents in Orvault went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Orvault goes for €3,500/m², an apartment for €2,802/m². The estimated advertised rent is €13.77/m² a month, above both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€12.75/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 57% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,500/m² | 578 |
| Apartments | €2,802/m² | 436 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
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. 2,090 deaths in Orvault between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 2,561: 18% below. There are 30 general practitioners in the town.
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 · Note: TownRatings models the care-home adjustment; it is not an official figure.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The closest collège is 0.9 mi off. By results, schools here place #52 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. At the lycées within 5 km of Orvault, 95.4% passed the bac, about level with Loire-Atlantique’s towns (95.7%) and above compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège GutenbergNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 110 | 77%−9 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Nicolas AppertNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 233 | 96%−2 pts |
| Collège La DurantièreBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 55 | 78%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Recorded offenses in Orvault came to 727 in 2025. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
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.
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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 1.4%. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 18th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Children under 15 make up 19%, near Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and higher than compared French towns (17%). Aged 15 to 24: 13% of residents. Half of Orvault is older than 41.3, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire-Atlantique 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Orvault | Loire-Atlantique median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 11% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 17% | 28% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 52% | 34% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire-Atlantique median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage, museums and gardens in and near Orvault. Best known first.
GardenParc de Procé4.2 km southeast, in NantesArt galleryArt galleryGalerie Marchepiedin townTheme parkTheme parkPop Corn Labyrinthein townGardenGardenSquare de Kindiain townArt galleryArt galleryArt'Loftin townPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
One notable person was born in Orvault.
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Orvault is a commune of 28,534 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orvault | 28,534 | — | B+ | C− | C+ | A− |
| Saint-Herblain | 50,973 | 2.6 | C+ | C− | D− | A− |
| Nantes | 327,734 | 3.2 | C | D | D | B+ |
| Sautron | 8,555 | 3.2 | B+ | C− | B+ | A |
| La Chapelle-sur-Erdre | 20,690 | 3.5 | B | C− | B− | A |
| Treillières | 10,600 | 4.3 | A | C | A− | A− |
| Indre | 4,160 | 5 | C | C | C | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C+ for safety, #64 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 151 burglaries and 172 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B, better than 64% of compared French towns and #52 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. 96% of 233 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Nicolas Appert in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Orvault 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.