Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,027 in Manche, Normandy.
Bretteville has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is walkability (C): 0% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 9% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,703/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Cotentin. Its strongest is schools (B+): brevet results a point above the expected rate.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 3 things Bretteville does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bretteville 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 →
Bretteville has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 0 inscrit, the second level.
The oldest protected part dates from prehistory; the first monument here was protected in 1862.
Explore the history →Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Bretteville. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bretteville.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Collège pupils travel 2.8 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Denis DiderotNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 120 | 91%+1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Among adults, 40% have a degree. 29% of residents are 65 or over, about level with Manche’s towns (29%) and above compared French towns (22%). The middle age in Bretteville is 52.7.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Bretteville | Manche median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 13% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.1% | 9.3% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 29% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 12% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 40% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
5.6% of the labour force were unemployed, lower than both Manche’s towns (8.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%). 50 jobs are based in Bretteville, for 400 working residents (0.1 per worker). At the census, nearly one in ten commuters got to work without a car.
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.
Advertised rents are estimated at €11.49/m² a month, between Manche’s towns (€9.90/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Behind the median of €2,703/m²: 59 houses and apartments sold in Bretteville between July 2023 and June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,703/m² | 59 |
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.
In Manche, women can expect to live 85.5 years and men 79 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 87 deaths in Bretteville between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 103: 15% below. For a family doctor, residents of Bretteville can choose among 3 GPs.
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. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C− to A.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total, below Manche’s towns (12%) but above compared French towns (7.4%). The protected list starts in prehistory.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Bretteville has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Bretteville.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bretteville | 1,027 | — | — | C+ | — | B |
| Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | 78,258 | 5.1 | B− | C | B− | C− |
| Valognes | 6,969 | 10 | B+ | B− | B− | C− |
| La Hague | 11,484 | 12 | A | B | A+ | C |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin | 5,893 | 14 | A+ | A− | A+ | A− |
| Les Pieux | 3,249 | 17 | — | B | — | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Bretteville has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.6 recorded violent incidents and 5.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade B+, better than 75% of compared French towns. 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 €2,703/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bretteville grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Bretteville is a commune of 1,027 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Cotentin. 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.