Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 5,131 people, this town lies in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
A tough set of grades. Ferrière-la-Grande’s overall grade, D, puts it better than 8% of compared French towns. That places it #153 of 189 in Nord. It also trails on health — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 16% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Fewer journeys need a car: 71% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 9% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €1,176/m², so 70 m² costs 4 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Maubeuge Val de Sambre.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, 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.
The 2 things Ferrière-la-Grande does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ferrière-la-Grande 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 →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Ferrière-la-Grande as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne poterie Gibon, in Ferrière-la-Petite, 1.6 mi away.
Explore the history →Other places to visit, heritage and museums in and near Ferrière-la-Grande. Best known first.
ZooZoo de Maubeuge3.4 km northwest, in MaubeugeAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye de Maubeuge2.9 km northwest, in MaubeugeMuseumMuseumMusée de la Cour des Potiers2.6 km southeast, in Ferrière-la-PetiteFortFortEnceinte de Maubeuge3 km northwest, in MaubeugeMuseumMuseumMusée Henri Boez3.5 km northwest, in MaubeugePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ferrière-la-Grande.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Nord, women can expect to live 84.5 years and men 78.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 628 deaths in Ferrière-la-Grande between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 449: 40% above. This Nord town has 4 family doctors.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Ferrière-la-Grande, 86.0% passed the bac, lower than both Nord’s towns (90.4%) and compared French towns (92.9%). For exam results, it comes #172 of 195 in Nord.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège LavoisierNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 105 | 92%+9 pts |
| Lycée Théophile Legrand PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 30 | 100% |
| Collège Notre-Dame de Grâce PrivateBest against expectations: 7 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 158 | 95%+7 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
At 39.8, the median resident of Ferrière-la-Grande sits in the middle of the age range. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 12% of residents, about level with Nord’s towns (12%) and above compared French towns (11%).
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Ferrière-la-Grande | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 23% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 22% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
At the census, 8.6% of commuters got to work without a car. Half of residents lived on more than €21,330 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Nord’s towns (€23,900) and compared French towns (€25,970).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The commonest graded crime in Ferrière-la-Grande was family violence (2025). All told, Ferrière-la-Grande had 93 recorded offenses in 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 11.7 cases of violence against people and 10.8 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average).
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 sexual violence, armed robbery, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 5.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
171 sales of houses and apartments in Ferrière-la-Grande, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,176/m². House rents are put at about €7.64/m² a month. Houses accounted for 93% of sales, apartments for the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,183/m² | 159 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Ferrière-la-Grande is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
2 notable people were born in Ferrière-la-Grande.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
It grades B− for safety, #76 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 31 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C−, better than 19% of compared French towns and #172 of 195 in Nord. 100% of 30 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Théophile Legrand in 2025 given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,176/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Ferrière-la-Grande grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Ferrière-la-Grande is a commune of 5,131 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Maubeuge Val de Sambre. 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 9, 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.