Pupils here do better than most: bac results 2 points above the expected rate; brevet results 0.9 points above the expected rate. With a B+ overall, Pontchâteau is better than 68% of compared French towns and ranks #42 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Housing is expensive: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: nearly two in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 9% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety and C+ for health.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Pontchâteau 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.
Menhir dit Le Fuseau de la Madeleine: Photo: Moodindigo3269 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pontchâteau.
Schools
Exam results around Pontchâteau beat 86% of compared French towns
92.8%passed the brevetASchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 93% passed the bac pro, of 45 candidates. On results, collèges and lycées here come #17 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. No general lycée lies within 5 km; the nearest is 6.4 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Pontchâteau’s grade for jobs & income: a B+
9%walk, cycle or take transit
Per resident in work, Pontchâteau counts 1 jobs (5,100 jobs, 5,050 workers). 8.7% of the labour force were unemployed, higher than Loire-Atlantique’s towns (7.2%) yet lower than compared French towns (10.1%). Also worth knowing: at the census, 5.0% of working residents in Pontchâteau went to work by public transport.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving86%
Public transport5%
On foot3%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,100
jobs based in Pontchâteau, 1 per working resident
8.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,570
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 37% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
A typical home in Pontchâteau sells for €2,369/m²
€2,369/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Pontchâteau sell for €2,440/m², houses for €2,341/m². For a house, the estimated advertised rent is €10.29/m² a month. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 414 homes locally.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pontchâteau€2,369/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire-Atlantique median€2,844/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,341/m²
334
Apartments
€2,440/m²
80
€11.77/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.60 to €14.45/m² a month)
6.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.29/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,890
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays de Pontchâteau Saint-Gildas-des-Bois
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Pontchâteau than in Loire-Atlantique’s towns or across compared French towns: 27% of adults
42.2median age
19% are under 15, about level with Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and above compared French towns (17%). Ages in Pontchâteau split evenly at 42.2: half are older, half younger. The 65-and-over age group makes up 19% of residents.
PontchâteauLoire-Atlantique medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP32%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 96 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
History
1 historic monument in Pontchâteau, the oldest from prehistory
1historic monument
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Pontchâteau is Menhir dit Le Fuseau de la Madeleine. 7.1% of its homes were built before 1919, about level with compared French towns (7.4%) and below Loire-Atlantique’s towns (8.5%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, Pontchâteau sees 90 deaths per 100 expected, against 85 in Loire-Atlantique’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Pontchâteau is Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire, 13.7 mi away. 1,071 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 987: 8% above. Women in Loire-Atlantique live to 86.2 on average and men to 80.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Pontchâteau · 3.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Saint Nazaire
13.7 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
Crime per resident in Pontchâteau is lower than in 53% of compared French towns
7.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 7.4 violent offenses and 13.3 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. Recorded offenses in Pontchâteau came to 227 in 2025. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes locally.
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage91
Family violence41
Burglary23
Other physical violence21
Theft from vehicles18
Sexual violence17
Vehicle theft16
Armed robbery0
Fraud65
Theft without violence40
Drug use17
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.
7.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
227
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Jacques Demy: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
About Pontchâteau
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Pontchâteau is a commune of 11,474 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Pontchâteau Saint-Gildas-des-Bois. 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
11,474 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes du Pays de Pontchâteau Saint-Gildas-des-Bois
Département
Loire-Atlantique (44)
Région
Pays de la Loire
Area
21.5 sq mi (55.7 km²)
INSEE code
44129
Pontchâteau’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 Pontchâteau
Is Pontchâteau safe?
It grades B− for safety, #44 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 23 burglaries and 91 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pontchâteau good?
They grade A, better than 86% of compared French towns and #17 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pontchâteau expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.77/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pontchâteau 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.
