Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,080 in Meuse, Grand Est.
Fains-Véel has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is health (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 10% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its strongest is cost of living (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Fains-Véel does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Fains-Véel 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Fains-Véel has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
The oldest protected part dates from the 15th century; the first monument here was protected in 1927.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fains-Véel.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The middle sale price: €1,253/m², about level with Meuse’s towns (€1,211/m²) and below compared French towns (€2,430/m²). A house rents for an estimated €8.28/m² a month. Of the homes sold, 97% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,285/m² | 56 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Fains-Véel have one GP on hand. At birth, a girl in Meuse can expect 85.2 years and a boy 77.9 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 307 residents of Fains-Véel died, against 258 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 19% more.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Collège pupils travel 1.5 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Raymond PoincaréNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 79 | 96%+5 pts |
| Lycée Raymond PoincaréNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 278 | 97%+1 pt |
| Collège André TheurietBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 60 | 95%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
30% of residents are 65 or over, above Meuse’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Under 15: 13% of residents. The middle age in Fains-Véel is 54.7.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Meuse 52.5%, France 51.8%.
| Fains-Véel | Meuse median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 14% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.1% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 30% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 20% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Meuse median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Fains-Véel is Église Sainte-Catherine de Fains-les-Sources. Protection here reaches back to the 15th century. 9.7% of homes date from before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
After tax and benefits, the median income is €27,860 a year per consumption unit. For its 800 residents in work, Fains-Véel has 850 jobs: 1.1 each. At the census, nearly one in ten commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Museums and heritage in and near Fains-Véel. Best known first.
ChâteauChâteau des ducs de Bar2.7 km southeast, in Bar-le-DucMuseumMuseumChemin de Fer Historique de la Voie Sacrée2 km northeast, in Bar-le-DucMuseumMuseumChapelle du monastère Saint-Dominique de Bar-le-Duc2.7 km southeast, in Bar-le-DucMuseumMuseumMusée du Barrois2.6 km southeast, in Bar-le-DucPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Fains-Véel has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
Église de Véel: Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Sainte-Catherine de Fains-les-Sources: Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Fains-Véel yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fains-Véel | 2,080 | — | — | A+ | — | D |
| Bar-le-Duc | 14,607 | 1.9 | B+ | A | C− | C |
| Ligny-en-Barrois | 3,677 | 11 | B− | A+ | C | B |
| Ancerville | 2,569 | 12 | — | A+ | — | D |
| Saint-Dizier Haute-Marne | 22,858 | 13 | C− | B+ | C− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Fains-Véel has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 1.5 recorded violent incidents and 6.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A, better than 88% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 97% of 278 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Raymond Poincaré in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Fains-Véel grades A+ for cost of living.
Commune in Meuse, Grand Est
Fains-Véel is a commune of 2,080 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Bar-le-Duc - Sud Meuse. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.
