Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 50,973 residents in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire.
The picture is mixed. Saint-Herblain grades C+ overall, better than 43% of compared French towns. That places it #73 of 93 in Loire-Atlantique. Its weakest is safety (D−): an average of 7.5 recorded violent incidents and 33 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It also trails on cost of living (C−) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Fewer journeys need a car: 95% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 31% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Add health to its strengths: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 23% 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.
The one thing Saint-Herblain does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Herblain 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 →
Saint-Herblain has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 15th century; the first monument here was protected in 1925.
1.1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Museums, gardens and heritage in and near Saint-Herblain. Best known first.
AttractionLes Machines de l'île4.6 km southeast, in Nantes
MuseumMusée Jules-Verne4 km southeast, in Nantes
MuseumMaillé-Brézé4.1 km southeast, in Nantes
MuseumMusée départemental Thomas-Dobrée4.2 km east, in Nantes
AttractionPassage Pommeraye4.7 km east, in NantesPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Herblain.
Saint-Herblain ranks last of the 93 compared towns in Loire-Atlantique on the Safety Grade. All told, Saint-Herblain had 1,828 recorded offenses in 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in Saint-Herblain (48,950 to 22,800): it draws people in from around. Of the graded crimes in the town, criminal damage came up most often (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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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 unemployment rate comes to 10.9%. At the census, 3.0% of working residents in Saint-Herblain didn’t travel to work at all. Half of residents lived on more than €25,940 a year per consumption unit, lower than Loire-Atlantique’s towns (€27,630) and near compared French towns (€25,970).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
58 GPs practise in Saint-Herblain. In Loire-Atlantique, life expectancy at birth reaches 86.2 years for women and 80.3 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 3,316 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 4,035: 18% below.
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 · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,852/m², comes from 2,069 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Herblain from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Saint-Herblain sell for €3,158/m² and apartments for €2,625/m². Among the homes sold, 33% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,158/m² | 687 |
| Apartments | €2,625/m² | 1,382 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
People 65 and over make up nearly a fifth of the town, about level with Loire-Atlantique’s towns (19%) and below compared French towns (22%). Graduates make up just over two in five adults. Saint-Herblain has a median age of 37.2 years.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire-Atlantique 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Herblain | Loire-Atlantique median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 19% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 15% | 14% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 21% | 28% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 42% | 34% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire-Atlantique median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 15th century. 1.1% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Loire-Atlantique’s towns (8.5%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Schools rank #63 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Anne FrankNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 121 | 76%±0 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Sacré-Coeur La Salle PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 43 | 86%−5 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
The list names few of Saint-Herblain’s 2 monuments; beside them, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Manoir de la Paclais: Photo: Amaury Bouchet · CC BY-SA 3.0
3 notable people were born in Saint-Herblain.
Junior Diaz: ESTAC Troyes, CC BY 3.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Herblain | 50,973 | — | C+ | C− | D− | A− |
| Orvault | 28,534 | 2.6 | B+ | C− | C+ | A− |
| Indre | 4,160 | 2.7 | C | C | C | B− |
| Nantes | 327,734 | 3.1 | C | D | D | B+ |
| Bouguenais | 20,530 | 3.2 | C− | C− | D | C+ |
| Sautron | 8,555 | 3.7 | B+ | C− | B+ | A |
| La Montagne | 6,505 | 3.8 | B+ | C | C+ | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 231 burglaries and 596 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 53% of compared French towns and #63 of 83 in Loire-Atlantique. 86% of 43 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Sacré-Coeur La Salle in 2025, 5 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,852/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Herblain grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
Saint-Herblain is a commune of 50,973 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
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 9, 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.