Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,487 in Manche, Normandy.
Bréhal grades B overall: better than 63% of compared French towns, and #18 of 27 in Manche. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is safety (A−): an average of 2.5 recorded violent incidents and 13.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Bréhal does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bréhal 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 Bréhal, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bréhal.
That puts Bréhal above both Manche’s towns (29%) and compared French towns (22%). Children under 15 make up 11% of residents.
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Bréhal | Manche median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 13% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.3% | 9.3% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 42% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 20% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
Police and gendarmerie recorded 48 offenses in the graded categories in Bréhal in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Bréhal, burglary came up most often (2025). For other physical violence, sexual violence, armed robbery, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 12.9% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
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
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
On this, Bréhal is above both Manche’s towns (€1,814/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,120/m² | 153 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Bréhal, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
In the comparison, Bréhal comes above both Manche’s towns (€24,970) and compared French towns (€25,970). Bréhal has 950 jobs for 1,100 working residents, 0.9 per worker.
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.
From 2016 to 2025, 561 residents of Bréhal died, against 572 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% fewer. Its care home for older people (57 places) counts its residents as Bréhal’s; allowing for it, deaths were 10% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
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
Bréhal has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Ruines de l'église du Vieux Saint-Martin: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 3.0
One notable person was born in Bréhal.
Gérard Férey: Nadir of Moscow, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bréhal | 3,487 | — | B | C | A− | C+ |
| Donville-les-Bains | 3,146 | 4 | C+ | D | B− | B+ |
| Granville | 12,510 | 4.8 | C | C− | D | B |
| Quettreville-sur-Sienne | 3,167 | 6.2 | — | A− | — | B |
| Saint-Pair-sur-Mer | 4,507 | 6.3 | A− | C− | A− | B+ |
| Sartilly-Baie-Bocage | 2,778 | 11 | — | C+ | — | A− |
| Agon-Coutainville | 3,020 | 11 | A− | C− | B− | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A− for safety, #14 of 27 in Manche. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 19 acts of criminal damage.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.37/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bréhal grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Bréhal is a commune of 3,487 people in the Communauté de communes de Granville, Terre et Mer. 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 October 30, 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.
