Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 36% of the population. 3,274 people call this town in Manche, Normandy home.
Where it does best is schools — brevet results 4 points above the expected rate. Safety is a strength too (A) — an average of 3.7 recorded violent incidents and 8.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At €2,552/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 7.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Coutances Mer et Bocage. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 48% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 6% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, ranking #8 of 27 in Manche. Set against the rest, it does better than 92% of compared French towns.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Gouville-sur-Mer does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Gouville-sur-Mer 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 no building in Gouville-sur-Mer as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ermitage Saint-Gerbold, in Gratot, 4.8 mi away.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Gouville-sur-Mer.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Results rank its schools #2 of 29 in Manche. The town’s pupils have a collège 3 mi away. The closest lycée for the general bac is 6.1 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Les EmbrunsNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 69 | 96%+4 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
2025 saw 25 offenses recorded in Gouville-sur-Mer. The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (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 · When other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (17.6% of the index here). As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Degrees are held by 22% of adults, about level with Manche’s towns (22%) and below compared French towns (30%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 6.7%. Children are just over a tenth of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Gouville-sur-Mer | Manche median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 13% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.7% | 9.3% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 36% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 23% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 22% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
Per resident in work, Gouville-sur-Mer counts 0.6 jobs (750 jobs, 1,250 workers). 6.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Manche’s towns (9.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Median disposable income comes to €26,660 a year per consumption unit.
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.
400 deaths in Gouville-sur-Mer between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 437: 8% below. Adjusted for age and care homes, Gouville-sur-Mer records 92 deaths per 100 expected, near Manche’s towns (90) and higher than compared French towns (88). The nearest emergency department to Gouville-sur-Mer is Centre hospitalier de Coutances, 6.9 mi away. Average lifespans in Manche: 85.5 years for women, 79 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
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 · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.56/m² a month, near Manche’s towns (€9.90/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house rents for an estimated €7.19/m² a month. Houses made up 99% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,551/m² | 141 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Other places to visit and heritage in and near Gouville-sur-Mer. Best known first.
Nothing in Gouville-sur-Mer is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
3 notable people were born in Gouville-sur-Mer.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gouville-sur-Mer | 3,274 | — | A | B− | A | C+ |
| Agon-Coutainville | 3,020 | 4 | A− | C− | B− | B+ |
| Coutances | 8,321 | 6.7 | C− | B+ | D | C− |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages | 3,208 | 7.7 | C+ | A+ | A | C− |
| Quettreville-sur-Sienne | 3,167 | 10 | — | A− | — | B |
| La Haye | 4,029 | 13 | A+ | B+ | A+ | A− |
| Bréhal | 3,487 | 14 | B | C | A− | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A for safety, #9 of 27 in Manche.
They grade A, better than 94% of compared French towns and #2 of 29 in Manche. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Gouville-sur-Mer grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Gouville-sur-Mer is a commune of 3,274 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
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 4, 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.