The data are hard on it. Its weakest subject is safety — an average of 12.6 recorded violent incidents and 22.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It is easy to get around without a car: 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 40% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #59 of 68 in Moselle. That leaves it better than 8% of compared French towns.
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 Metz 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.
Fonds régional d’art contemporain de Lorraine: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Metz.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Getting about on foot is easier in Metz than in 97% of compared French towns
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €23,070 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 14.3%, higher than both Moselle’s towns (12.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Metz holds 82,450 jobs; 51,650 of its residents are in work, so 1.6 jobs each.
40%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving56%
Public transport23%
On foot13%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
82,450
jobs based in Metz, 1.6 per working resident
14.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,070
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 97% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Metz records more crime per resident than 91% of compared French towns
4,494 offenses were reported in Metz during 2025. No compared town in Moselle has more graded crime per resident than Metz: it ranks last of 68. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Metz (2025).
12.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,359
Theft from vehicles951
Other physical violence735
Family violence584
Burglary409
Sexual violence263
Vehicle theft171
Armed robbery22
Theft without violence1,879
Fraud713
Drug use586
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.
12.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
4,494
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.
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1975, and 125 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Metz is Vestiges gallo-romains. Scaled to its population, that is 10 protected monuments for every 10,000 people in the town. Part of the town has been protected as a historic area since 1975. Its heritage reaches back to Antiquity.
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
More deaths than expected: Metz is above 73% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Metz come to 97 per 100 predicted. 10,915 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 9,272: 18% above. Life expectancy at birth in Moselle is 83.6 years for women and 79.1 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Metz can choose among 142 GPs.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw118
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
142
GPs in Metz · 5.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Regional D Instruction des Armees Legouest
0.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital clinique Claude Bernard
83.6 · 79.1
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Moselle, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
INSEE, census 2023 · Moselle median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
85.8% of candidates passed the brevet at the 18 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 Metz, 92.5% of lycée candidates passed the bac, above Moselle’s towns (90.9%) and close to compared French towns (92.9%). The town’s schools place #37 of 78 in Moselle on results.
96%passed the bac (general and technological)C+School Grade
Paul Verlaine: Otto Wegener, Public domain · Jean-Victor Poncelet: Ary Scheffer, Public domain · Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · François-Étienne Kellermann: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Gabriel Pierné: Painting by unidentified artist, Public domain · Jacques Charrier: Giancarlo Botti / Gamma, Public domain
Metz’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 Metz
Is Metz safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 409 burglaries and 1,359 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Metz good?
They grade C+, better than 45% of compared French towns and #37 of 78 in Moselle. The lycée stands out: 100% of 181 candidates passed the bac at Institution de la Salle 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.
About Metz
Commune in Moselle, Grand Est
Metz is a commune of 122,572 people in the Metz Métropole. 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.
