Coutances grades C− overall: better than 23% of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 12.4 recorded violent incidents and 20.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,868/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Coutances Mer et Bocage. Its strongest is walkability (A): 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 26% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Coutances 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.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Coutances.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Coutances than in Manche or compared French towns: 20 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
That puts Coutances above both Manche’s towns (6.7) and compared French towns (2.5). The Culture ministry lists 17 historic monuments in Coutances: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 12 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Coutances is Aqueduc et ses abords.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C
More commuters in Coutances walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Manche’s towns or compared French towns: 25.7%
On this, Coutances is above both Manche’s towns (9.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%). The median disposable income is €22,630 a year per consumption unit. Coutances has 9,150 jobs for 3,250 working residents, 2.8 per worker.
26%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving69%
On foot19%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
9,150
jobs based in Coutances, 2.8 per working resident
12.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,630
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 93% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Coutances records more crime per resident than 87% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 260 offenses in the graded categories in Coutances in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Coutances ranks 25th of the 27 compared towns in Manche. For armed robbery, 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, 0.2% of the index here.
12.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage108
Other physical violence45
Sexual violence32
Family violence24
Burglary20
Theft from vehicles18
Vehicle theft13
Drug use72
Theft without violence70
Fraud47
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.
12.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
260
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
HealthHealth C−
Coutances’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 78% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Coutances records 99 deaths per 100 expected, above both Manche’s towns (90) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,476 residents of Coutances died, against 1,203 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 23% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw123
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
16
GPs in Coutances · 4.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Coutances
15.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Memorial France Etats Unis St Lo
85.5 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Manche, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B+
Coutances gets a B+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,868/m², comes from 302 sales of houses and apartments in Coutances from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €10.13/m² a month, close to Manche’s towns (€9.90/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). In Coutances, houses go for €1,918/m² and apartments for €1,762/m².
€1,868/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Coutances€1,868/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Manche median€1,814/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,918/m²
184
Apartments
€1,762/m²
118
€10.13/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.78 to €13.20/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.03/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,080
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Coutances Mer et Bocage
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Coutances
Is Coutances safe?
It grades D for safety, #25 of 27 in Manche. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 20 burglaries and 108 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Coutances good?
They grade C, better than 28% of compared French towns and #26 of 29 in Manche. 94% of 253 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Charles-François Lebrun in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Coutances expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,868/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Coutances grades B+ for cost of living.
About Coutances
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Coutances is a commune of 8,321 people in the Communauté de communes Coutances Mer et Bocage. 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
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.
