Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. It lags on cost of living as well — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest subject is walkability — 61% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 23% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at D−, better than 3% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Le Palais 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 Le Palais.
History
Le Palais is rich in protected monuments: 38 per 10,000 residents, more than in both Morbihan’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 17th century. Among the classé monuments in Le Palais is Aiguade Vauban. Most of the list is castles and fortifications: 9 of 10. On the Culture ministry’s list, Le Palais counts 10 historic monuments: 3 classé at the top level of protection and 7 inscrit at the second.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth D−
Le Palais loses more people than its age profile suggests, 119 per 100 expected, above Morbihan’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Le Palais can choose among 11 GPs. The nearest emergency department to Le Palais is Chba site D Auray, 24 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 314 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 472, 50% more. Life expectancy at birth in Morbihan is 85.4 years for women and 79.2 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
+19%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw150
Adjusted119
Median town88
Expected100
11
GPs in Le Palais · 5.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
24 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chba site D Auray
29.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive Oceane
85.4 · 79.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Morbihan, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Homes in Le Palais cost more than in both Morbihan’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €4,604/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Le Palais goes for €4,839/m², an apartment for €4,162/m². The estimated advertised rent is €14.65/m² a month, higher than both Morbihan’s towns (€12.68/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses are advertised at an estimated €12.54/m² a month.
€4,604/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Le Palais€4,604/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Morbihan median€2,715/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,839/m²
93
Apartments
€4,162/m²
45
€14.65/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.27 to €19.05/m² a month)
12.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.54/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,480
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de Belle-Île-en-Mer
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Le Palais has higher unemployment than Morbihan’s towns or compared French towns: 14.5%
At the census, 22.5% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Morbihan’s towns (9.2%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Jobs based in Le Palais number 1,500, against 1,000 residents in work (1.4 per worker).
23%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving65%
On foot16%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter5%
Public transport1%
1,500
jobs based in Le Palais, 1.4 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,410
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 78% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Le Palais records more crime per resident than 76% of compared French towns
Le Palais’s tally for 2025: 67 recorded offenses. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 6.8 violent offenses and 21.4 graded property crimes a year. Also worth knowing: more of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
6.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage36
Sexual violence10
Other physical violence8
Family violence7
Vehicle theft6
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence26
Fraud20
Drug use10
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.
6.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
67
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
12.3%
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 burglary and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 12.3% of the index here. As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Few people in Le Palais are 15 to 24: 7.4%, fewer than in both Morbihan’s towns and compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. People 65 and over make up 29% of the town, above both Morbihan’s towns (27%) and compared French towns (22%). Half the people of Le Palais are older than 50.5.
50.5median age
Le PalaisMorbihan medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat23%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Morbihan 51.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Citadelle du Palais, à Belle-Ile-en-Mer: Photo: Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Enceinte urbaine: Photo: Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort du Gros Rocher: Photo: Remi Jouan · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Le Palais
Is Le Palais safe?
It grades C− for safety, #49 of 54 in Morbihan.
Is Le Palais expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Le Palais grades D for cost of living.
About Le Palais
Commune in Morbihan, Brittany
Le Palais is a commune of 2,599 people in the Communauté de communes de Belle-Île-en-Mer. 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.
