Lessay has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is health (C): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 5% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €1,826/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Côte Ouest Centre Manche. Its strongest is schools (A−): brevet results 3 points above the expected rate.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Lessay 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Lessay than in Manche’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.32/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,826/m², comes from 76 sales of houses and apartments in Lessay from July 2023 to June 2026. The sales split: 99% houses, the rest apartments.
€1,826/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Lessay€1,826/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Manche median€1,814/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,888/m²
75
€8.32/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.45 to €10.73/m² a month)
5.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.80/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,920
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Côte Ouest Centre Manche
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Per resident, Lessay sees less crime than 70% of compared French towns
With 1,900 jobs for 900 working residents, Lessay draws people in from neighbouring communes. Over 2025, Lessay logged 36 recorded offenses. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 8.8 cases of violence against people and 8.5 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in the town.
8.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage17
Family violence10
Other physical violence9
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence11
Fraud7
Drug use5
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.
8.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
36
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
15.6%
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 · For sexual violence, burglary, 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, 15.6% of the index here. With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. 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 count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C
Lessay has a higher adjusted death rate than 69% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Manche can expect 85.5 years and a boy 79 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Lessay come to 95 per 100 predicted. 318 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 288: 11% above. The nearest emergency department to Lessay is Centre hospitalier de Coutances, 12.8 mi away.
−5%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw111
Adjusted95
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Lessay · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
12.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Coutances
20.6 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
Fewer people in Lessay hold a degree than in Manche’s towns or compared French towns: 12%
One measure of family life: 15% of residents are under 15. People 65 and over make up 28% of the town, lower than Manche’s towns (29%) yet higher than compared French towns (22%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 9.9% of the town.
49.4median age
LessayManche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP36%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education12%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Lessay has 1 historic monument, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 9.1% of the total, between Manche’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Lessay is Ancienne abbaye. Protection here reaches back to the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Incomes in Lessay run lower than in both Manche’s towns and compared French towns: a median €23,210 a year per consumption unit
Just over a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, higher than Manche’s towns (8.8%) and near compared French towns (10.1%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 7.6% of commuters travelled at the census.
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
On foot5%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport1%
1,900
jobs based in Lessay, 2.1 per working resident
10.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,210
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 42% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Lessay
Are schools in Lessay good?
They grade A−, better than 83% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Lessay expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,826/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Lessay grades A− for cost of living.
About Lessay
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Lessay is a commune of 2,278 people in the Communauté de communes Côte Ouest Centre Manche. 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.
