Valognes grades B+ overall: better than 69% of compared French towns, and #17 of 27 in Manche. Its weakest subject is health (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 0% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €2,283/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Cotentin. Its strongest is walkability (A): 81% 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 Valognes 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 Valognes.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Valognes than in Manche or compared French towns: 22 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes built before 1919 account for 13% of the housing. Among the classé monuments in Valognes is Ruines romaines d'Alauna. On the Culture ministry’s list, Valognes counts 15 historic monuments: 3 classé at the top level of protection and 12 inscrit at the second. Its heritage reaches back to Antiquity.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
A walkable place: Valognes beats 86% of compared French towns on foot
7.7% of the labour force were unemployed, about level with Manche’s towns (8.8%) and below compared French towns (10.1%). For its 2,800 residents in work, Valognes has 5,050 jobs: 1.8 each. Bus, tram or train carried 5.6% of working residents in Valognes to work at the census.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot11%
Public transport6%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,050
jobs based in Valognes, 1.8 per working resident
7.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,280
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 86% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Valognes run higher than in 79% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted mortality in Valognes: 100 deaths for every 100 expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,018 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,244, 22% more. Life expectancy at birth in Manche is 85.5 years for women and 79 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Valognes can choose among 8 GPs.
−0%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw122
Adjusted100
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Valognes · 3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chpc site Valognes
10.9 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
92.2% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 2 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Valognes is 97.0%, above Manche’s towns (94.3%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. On school results, the town ranks #15 of 29 in Manche.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B+School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 29% of residents are 65 or over
Under-15s account for 13% of the population. Degrees are held by 27% of adults, about level with compared French towns (30%) and above Manche’s towns (22%). The middle age in Valognes is 51.
51median age
ValognesManche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 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
Safety
Valognes has more crime per resident than 55% of compared French towns
All told, Valognes had 149 recorded offenses in 2025. Graded property crimes ran at 13.7 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 8.8 (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 damage57
Family violence25
Sexual violence21
Theft from vehicles17
Other physical violence16
Burglary13
Armed robbery0
Drug use44
Fraud43
Theft without violence41
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
13.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
149
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.8%
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 · Small counts of vehicle theft go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.8% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living B−
For cost of living, Valognes gets a B−
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
217 sales of houses and apartments in Valognes, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,283/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €11.49/m² a month, higher than Manche’s towns (€9.90/m²) yet lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses in Valognes sell for €2,235/m² and apartments for €2,407/m².
€2,283/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Valognes€2,283/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Manche median€1,814/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,235/m²
184
Apartments
€2,407/m²
33
€11.49/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.10 to €14.49/m² a month)
6.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.45/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,250
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Cotentin
Jules Pelouze: Pierre Petit, Public domain · Paul Legentilhomme: Anonymous, 1939 or 1940, Public domain · Camille Blaisot: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · Flavie Flament: Julien1978, CC BY-SA 4.0
Valognes’ 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 Valognes
Is Valognes safe?
It grades B− for safety, #20 of 27 in Manche. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 13 burglaries and 57 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Valognes good?
They grade B+, better than 74% of compared French towns and #15 of 29 in Manche. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Valognes expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,283/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Valognes grades B− for cost of living.
About Valognes
Commune in Manche, Normandy
Valognes is a commune of 6,969 people in the Communauté d'agglomération 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.
