Sainte-Mère-Église’s strongest subject is cost of living (B) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health is a weak point (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 9% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Most journeys need a car: 53% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. 18% of homes here are second homes.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Sainte-Mère-Église has no overall grade because safety and schools aren’t graded here.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Sainte-Mère-Église 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.
SafetyNot graded: over a quarter of the index would rest on the département’s average, where small counts aren’t published–
SchoolsNot graded: no collège with published results within 5 km–
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Château de Franquetot · Inscrit · Photo: Xfigpower · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sainte-Mère-Église’s story
Sainte-Mère-Église in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 6 historic monuments in Sainte-Mère-Église: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level).
That’s 21 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5.
The oldest protected part dates from the 11th century, and the first monument here was protected in 1840, on France’s very first list.
19% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sainte-Mère-Église.
History
Old homes shape Sainte-Mère-Église: 19% were built before 1919, more than in Manche’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sainte-Mère-Église has 21 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Manche’s towns (6.7) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments locally is Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 11th century. The Culture ministry lists 6 historic monuments here: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth D
More deaths than Sainte-Mère-Église’s ages would predict, 109 per 100 expected, above Manche’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Sainte-Mère-Église is Chpc site Valognes, 9.4 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 618 residents of Sainte-Mère-Église died, against 455 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 36% more. At birth, a girl in Manche can expect 85.5 years and a boy 79 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. There are 2 general practitioners here.
+9%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw136
Adjusted109
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Sainte-Mère-Église · 3.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chpc site Valognes
20.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Public du Cotentin
85.5 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Manche, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Fewer people in Sainte-Mère-Église hold a degree than in Manche’s towns or compared French towns: 18%
13% are under 15, near Manche’s towns (13%) and lower than compared French towns (17%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 8.4%. The 65-and-over age group makes up 31% of residents.
53.1median age
Sainte-Mère-ÉgliseManche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
31%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP32%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education18%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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.
INSEE, census 2023 · Manche median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B
Homes in Sainte-Mère-Église cost less than in Manche’s towns and across compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,723/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €10.29/m² a month, about level with Manche’s towns (€9.90/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Estimated advertised rent for houses: €7.76/m² a month. The market in Sainte-Mère-Église: 154 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€1,723/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sainte-Mère-Église€1,723/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Manche median€1,814/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,715/m²
152
€10.29/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.10 to €13.06/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.76/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,460
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de la Baie du Cotentin
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Fewer commuters in Sainte-Mère-Église walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Manche’s towns or compared French towns: 6.9%
Households’ median disposable income: €24,270 a year per consumption unit. Jobs based in Sainte-Mère-Église number 1,300, against 1,150 residents in work (1.1 per worker). 8.5% of the labour force were unemployed, near Manche’s towns (8.8%) and lower than compared French towns (10.1%).
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport2%
Bicycle1%
1,300
jobs based in Sainte-Mère-Église, 1.1 per working resident
8.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,270
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 37% of compared French towns
The Culture ministry lists 6 historic monuments in Sainte-Mère-Église: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level).
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption: Photo: Pete Hoffman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château dit aussi manoir de Mariéville: Photo: Xfigpower · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne redoute: Photo: Brémont Christophe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château de Franquetot: Photo: Xfigpower · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Sainte-Mère-Église
Is Sainte-Mère-Église safe?
Sainte-Mère-Église has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.9 recorded violent incidents and 6.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Sainte-Mère-Église expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Sainte-Mère-Église grades B for cost of living.
About Sainte-Mère-Église
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Sainte-Mère-Église is a commune of 2,896 people in the Communauté de communes de la Baie 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
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.
