Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,189 in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 14% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Cost of living is weaker too: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools do well: brevet results 4 points above the expected rate. The overall grade lands at C−, better than 23% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #108 of 189 in Nord.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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.
The 2 things Bray-Dunes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bray-Dunes 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 →
On the Culture ministry’s list, Bray-Dunes counts 1 historic monument: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 0 inscrit at the second.
The oldest protected part dates from prehistory; the first monument here was protected in 1978.
2.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bray-Dunes.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 495 deaths in Bray-Dunes from 2016 to 2025; there were 637, 29% more. Life expectancy at birth in Nord is 84.5 years for women and 78.8 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. Also worth knowing: there are 4 general practitioners here.
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 · Note: TownRatings models the care-home adjustment; it is not an official figure.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €14.35/m² a month, higher than both Nord’s towns (€11.81/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Apartments in Bray-Dunes sell for €3,605/m², houses for €2,437/m². Houses were 39% of what sold.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,437/m² | 174 |
| Apartments | €3,605/m² | 273 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
There is no general lycée within 5 km; one lies 4.8 mi away. On school results, the town ranks #14 of 195 in Nord.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège du SeptentrionNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 93 | 92%+4 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nearly a quarter of adults hold a degree, lower than both Nord’s towns (26%) and compared French towns (30%). Children are 13% of the town. People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.9% of the town.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Bray-Dunes | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 32% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Unemployment stood at 12.7%, about level with Nord’s towns (13.2%) and above compared French towns (10.1%). Bus, tram or train carried 5.0% of working residents in Bray-Dunes to work at the census. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €25,360 a year.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 2.4% of the total, below Nord’s towns (6.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. Among the classé monuments in Bray-Dunes is Maison de la Dune. The oldest protected building goes back to prehistory.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 11.8 violent offenses and 9.9 graded property crimes a year. Police and gendarmerie figures for Bray-Dunes show 85 offenses in 2025. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 5.6% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Other places to visit, museums and family days out in and near Bray-Dunes. Best known first.
Bray-Dunes has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
2 notable people were born in Bray-Dunes.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bray-Dunes | 4,189 | — | C− | D | B− | D |
| Ghyvelde | 4,133 | 1.7 | B | C− | A | D− |
| Leffrinckoucke | 4,078 | 3.6 | B− | C− | A | D |
| Téteghem-Coudekerque-Village | 8,247 | 5.3 | B− | D | A | D |
| Coudekerque-Branche | 20,787 | 6.7 | C− | C | B− | D |
| Dunkerque | 86,263 | 7 | D | C− | C− | D |
| Hondschoote | 3,957 | 7 | B | B− | A− | D |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B− for safety, #70 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 6 burglaries and 31 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A, better than 89% of compared French towns and #14 of 195 in Nord. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Bray-Dunes grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Bray-Dunes is a commune of 4,189 people in the Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque. 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 November 4, 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.