A town of contrasts. Crime is the sore point: an average of 13.9 recorded violent incidents and 23.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Cost of living is weaker too (C) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It is easy to get around without a car (A+): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 48% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at C, #50 of 56 in Meurthe-et-Moselle. On that grade it does better than 26% of compared French towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools and C+ for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Nancy 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 Nancy.
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
On foot, Nancy works better than 99% of compared French towns
Unemployment runs at 14.5%. 69,200 jobs are based in Nancy, for 44,200 working residents (1.6 per worker). After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,610 a year per consumption unit.
48%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving48%
On foot21%
Public transport20%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
69,200
jobs based in Nancy, 1.6 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,610
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 almost every compared French town
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Nancy: 264 historic monuments, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Protection here reaches back to the 14th century. Since 2008, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Per 10,000 residents, Nancy counts 25 protected monuments, higher than both Meurthe-et-Moselle’s towns (1.5) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments here is Porte de la Craffe.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Nancy sees more crime per resident than nine in ten compared French towns
No compared town in Meurthe-et-Moselle has more graded crime per resident than Nancy: it ranks last of 56. The police record for Nancy lists 3,898 offenses in 2025. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes locally.
13.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,235
Theft from vehicles729
Other physical violence707
Family violence428
Burglary339
Sexual violence317
Vehicle theft127
Armed robbery16
Theft without violence2,248
Fraud741
Drug use583
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.
13.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
3,898
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
A young town: 27% of people in Nancy are 15 to 24, more than in Meurthe-et-Moselle’s towns or compared French towns
12% are under 15, below Meurthe-et-Moselle’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Those 65 and older account for 15% of residents. Graduates make up 52% of adults.
31.2median age
NancyMeurthe-et-Moselle medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma14%
CAP or BEP14%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education52%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Meurthe-et-Moselle 51.7%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Meurthe-et-Moselle median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C
The middle sale price in Nancy: €2,296/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Nancy sell for €2,274/m², houses for €2,586/m². House rents are put at about €12.05/m² a month. Houses accounted for 10% of sales, apartments for the rest.
€2,296/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Nancy€2,296/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Meurthe-et-Moselle median€1,859/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,586/m²
501
Apartments
€2,274/m²
4,732
€12.15/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.73 to €15.16/m² a month)
6.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.05/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,210
median annual income per consumption unit, Métropole du Grand Nancy
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Nancy’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 57% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 7,627 deaths in Nancy from 2016 to 2025; there were 7,947, 4% more. Its 14 care homes for older people (1,093 places) count their residents as Nancy’s; allowing for them, deaths were 10% below expected. For a family doctor, residents of Nancy can choose among 115 GPs. Also worth knowing: women in Meurthe-et-Moselle live to 84.7 on average and men to 79.2 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw104
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
115
GPs in Nancy · 5.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chru Nancy Hopital Central
0.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chru Nancy Maternite
84.7 · 79.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Meurthe-et-Moselle, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
88.5% of candidates passed the brevet at the 23 collèges within 5 km, 1.8 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Nancy, 94.4% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Meurthe-et-Moselle’s towns (94.1%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). Its schools’ results rank #24 of 53 in Meurthe-et-Moselle.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Porte de la Craffe: Photo: [[User:RicciSpeziari| photo uploaded by User:RicciSpeziari. Photographer: Riccardo Speziari}} ]] · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bastion d'Haussonville: Nancy-webtv, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien palais ducal, actuellement musée lorrain: Photo: Davitof · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Croix en pierre dite Croix-Gagnée: Photo: Freb · CC BY-SA 3.0
Henri Poincaré: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · François Jacob: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Edmond de Goncourt: Nadar, Public domain · Lucien Febvre: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Henri Cartan: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Yaël Braun-Pivet: Houses of the Oireachtas from Ireland, CC BY 2.0
Nancy’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 Nancy
Is Nancy safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 339 burglaries and 1,235 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Nancy good?
They grade B−, better than 55% of compared French towns and #24 of 53 in Meurthe-et-Moselle. 97% of 422 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Henri Poincaré in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Nancy expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.15/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Nancy grades C for cost of living.
About Nancy
Commune in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Grand Est
Nancy is a commune of 103,671 people in the Métropole du Grand Nancy. 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.
