Saint-Lô grades B− overall: better than 51% of compared French towns, and #21 of 27 in Manche. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 10.4 recorded violent incidents and 21.9 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 €1,600/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Saint-Lô Agglo. Its strongest is walkability (A): 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% 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 Saint-Lô 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 Saint-Lô.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Saint-Lô has higher unemployment than Manche’s towns or compared French towns: 14.3%
Saint-Lô sits above both Manche’s towns (8.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%) on this measure. Saint-Lô has 18,450 jobs for 7,650 working residents, 2.4 per worker. At the census, 19.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot12%
Public transport5%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
18,450
jobs based in Saint-Lô, 2.4 per working resident
14.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,360
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 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Lô records more crime per resident than 86% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 641 offenses in the graded categories in Saint-Lô in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Saint-Lô, criminal damage came up most often (2025). 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, 0.1% of the index here.
10.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage296
Other physical violence78
Sexual violence70
Family violence65
Burglary61
Theft from vehicles46
Vehicle theft25
Drug use124
Theft without violence115
Fraud114
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.
10.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
641
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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
History
13 historic monuments, 2 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 13 historic monuments in Saint-Lô: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). 3.2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B+
Saint-Lô gets a B+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €1,600/m², close to Manche’s towns (€1,814/m²) and below compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Houses in Saint-Lô sell for €1,720/m² and apartments for €1,498/m².
€1,600/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Lô€1,600/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Manche median€1,814/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,720/m²
366
Apartments
€1,498/m²
353
€10.81/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.73 to €13.40/m² a month)
4.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.70/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,080
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Saint-Lô Agglo
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B−
Saint-Lô’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 55% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 2,361 residents of Saint-Lô died, against 2,335 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% more. Its four care homes for older people (276 places) count their residents as Saint-Lô’s; allowing for them, 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.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw101
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
18
GPs in Saint-Lô · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Memorial France Etats Unis St Lo
1.2 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
Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château de la Vaucelle: Photo: Xfigpower · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vestiges des remparts: Photo: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 3.0
Urbain Le Verrier: User Magnus Manske on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Hugues Duboscq: Jmex60, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jacques Davy du Perron: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain · Benoît Lesoimier: G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean Teulé: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Julien Le Bas: L'Ouest-Éclair, Public domain
Saint-Lô’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Lô
Is Saint-Lô safe?
It grades D for safety, #24 of 27 in Manche. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 61 burglaries and 296 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Lô good?
They grade B, better than 65% of compared French towns and #17 of 29 in Manche. 99% of 238 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Le Verrier in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Lô expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €10.81/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Lô grades B+ for cost of living.
About Saint-Lô
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Saint-Lô is a commune of 19,471 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Saint-Lô Agglo. 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.
