Real strengths, and real weak spots. Cambrai grades C− overall and ranks #114 of 189 in Nord. It comes out better than 21% of compared French towns. Crime runs high: an average of 17.4 recorded violent incidents and 22.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Health is weaker too — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 4% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Where it does best is walkability: four in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €1,464/m² costs 4.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Cambrai 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 Cambrai.
Safety
Crime per resident in Cambrai runs higher than in 95% of compared French towns
Cambrai has 18,600 jobs for 11,000 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Police and gendarmerie figures for Cambrai show 1,128 offenses in 2025. The graded crime recorded most here was criminal damage (2025).
17.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage437
Family violence215
Other physical violence199
Sexual violence83
Theft from vehicles76
Burglary75
Vehicle theft43
Drug use332
Theft without violence298
Fraud188
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.
17.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,128
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.1% of the index here. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Cambrai, 20.8%, runs above Nord’s towns and compared French towns
The median disposable income was €21,930 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Nord’s towns (€23,900) and compared French towns (€25,970). The census found 19.2% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot12%
Public transport5%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
18,600
jobs based in Cambrai, 1.7 per working resident
20.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,930
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 91% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Cambrai has a higher adjusted death rate than 86% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 4,174 residents of Cambrai died, against 3,402 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 23% more. After the care-home adjustment, the town’s deaths ran at 104 per 100 expected, about level with Nord’s towns (105) and above compared French towns (88). In Nord, women can expect to live 84.5 years and men 78.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. There are 42 general practitioners in the town.
+4%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw123
Adjusted104
Median town88
Expected100
42
GPs in Cambrai · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Etablissement Public de Sante de Cambrai
0.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Sainte Marie du Gcs Gpt des Hopitaux de L Icl
84.5 · 78.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Nord, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
31 historic monuments in Cambrai, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Scaled to its population, that is 10 protected monuments for every 10,000 people in Cambrai. Among the classé monuments in the town is Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles. The oldest protected building goes back to prehistory.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
85.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the five collèges within 5 km, 1.3 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
By results, schools here place #81 of 195 in Nord. Near Cambrai, 91.8% of lycée candidates passed the bac, above Nord’s towns (90.4%) and close to compared French towns (92.9%).
96%passed the bac (general and technological)BSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Cambrai than in Nord’s towns or across compared French towns: €11.01/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
1,209 sales of houses and apartments in Cambrai, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,464/m². In Cambrai, houses go for €1,348/m² and apartments for €1,712/m². Also worth knowing: of the homes sold, 68% were houses.
€1,464/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Cambrai€1,464/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nord median€1,810/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,348/m²
823
Apartments
€1,712/m²
386
€11.01/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.98 to €13.49/m² a month)
4.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.56/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,780
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 13% of people in Cambrai are 15 to 24, more than in both Nord’s towns and compared French towns
Retirement age and beyond: 24% of residents are 65 or older. 25% of adults hold a degree, about level with Nord’s towns (26%) and below compared French towns (30%). Typical age in Cambrai: 45, the median.
45median age
CambraiNord medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma26%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles: Photo: Camster · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison espagnole: Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tour des Arquets: Photo: myself · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Ancien Collège des Jésuites ou grand séminaire: Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Cambrai
Is Cambrai safe?
It grades D for safety, #172 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 75 burglaries and 437 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Cambrai good?
They grade B, better than 60% of compared French towns and #81 of 195 in Nord. The lycée stands out: 96% of 471 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Paul Duez in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Cambrai expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,464/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Cambrai grades B for cost of living.
About Cambrai
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Cambrai is a commune of 31,134 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai. 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.
