Laval grades B overall: better than 58% of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 12.3 recorded violent incidents and 20.2 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 €2,093/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Laval Agglomération. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 29% 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 Laval 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 Laval.
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
On foot, Laval works better than 95% of compared French towns
29.1% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Mayenne’s towns (11.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment stands at 12.4%. Laval has 36,500 jobs for 19,850 working residents, 1.8 per worker.
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot13%
Public transport9%
Bicycle7%
Motorbike or scooter1%
36,500
jobs based in Laval, 1.8 per working resident
12.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,120
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 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Laval runs higher than in 87% of compared French towns
Laval ranks last of the 16 compared towns in Mayenne on the Safety Grade. Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,589 offenses in the graded categories in Laval in 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.
12.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage512
Theft from vehicles316
Other physical violence195
Family violence190
Burglary172
Sexual violence141
Vehicle theft63
Fraud482
Theft without violence477
Drug use362
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.
12.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,589
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
38 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2005
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 38 historic monuments in Laval: 13 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 25 inscrit (the second level). Per 10,000 residents, Laval counts 7.7 protected monuments, above both Mayenne’s towns (4.2) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2005.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B+
Laval’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 69% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 5,044 residents of Laval died, against 5,489 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 8% fewer. Its eight care homes for older people (714 places) count their residents as Laval’s; allowing for them, deaths were 19% 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.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
36
GPs in Laval · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Laval
0.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Laval
86.5 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Mayenne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ancienne église Saint-Martin: Photo: Celeste (permission given to User:Oie blanche ) · CC BY 3.0 · Anciens remparts: Photo: Guiguilacagouille · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Manoir de Rouessé: Photo: Pierre-Olivier Rime · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château Neuf, actuellement Palais de Justice de Laval: Photo: Romain Bréget · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henri Rousseau: Dornac, Public domain · Alfred Jarry: Atelier Nadar, Public domain · Francis Coquelin: Дмитрий Пукалик, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Marie Guyau: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Éric Boullier: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unitedautosports/, CC BY-SA 2.0
Laval’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 Laval
Is Laval safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 172 burglaries and 512 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Laval good?
They grade B+, better than 66% of compared French towns and #10 of 15 in Mayenne. 97% of 339 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Ambroise Paré in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Laval expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,093/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €2,170/m² (1,031 sales), apartments €2,015/m² (1,091 sales). Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Laval grades B− for cost of living.
About Laval
Commune in Mayenne, Pays de la Loire
Laval is a commune of 49,400 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Laval Agglomération. 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.
