Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 20,239 residents in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Grande-Synthe grades low on several counts. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 33% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At €1,593/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque. Its strongest subject is walkability (A) — 98% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 22% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #148 of 189 in Nord. On that grade it does better than 9% of compared French towns.
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.
Each subject compares Grande-Synthe 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 3 things Grande-Synthe does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Grande-Synthe as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ruines de la vieille écluse de Mardyck, in Dunkerque, 1.3 mi away.
0.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Nothing in Grande-Synthe is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Grande-Synthe.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Women in Nord live to 84.5 on average and men to 78.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. From 2016 to 2025, 1,711 residents of Grande-Synthe died, against 1,211 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 41% more. For a family doctor, residents of Grande-Synthe can choose among 10 GPs.
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 · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €18,630 a year. 21.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Nord’s towns (13.0%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
More of the graded crimes in Grande-Synthe were criminal damage than anything else (2025). Violence against people ran at 11 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 16.9 (2023–2025 average). The police record for Grande-Synthe lists 485 offenses in 2025. This Nord town has 12,400 jobs for 6,050 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work.
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.2% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
People 65 and over make up 17% of the town, below both Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 14% of residents. Grande-Synthe has a median age of 36.9.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Grande-Synthe | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 17% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 34% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 15% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On school results, the town ranks #151 of 195 in Nord.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège du MoulinNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 70 | 74%+1 pt |
| Lycée du NoordoverNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 237 | 93%−1 pt |
| Collège René Bonpain PrivateBest against expectations: 11 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 50 | 98%+11 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
294 sales of houses and apartments in Grande-Synthe, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,593/m². In Grande-Synthe, houses go for €1,648/m² and apartments for €1,270/m². Among the homes sold, 80% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,648/m² | 234 |
| Apartments | €1,270/m² | 60 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Museums, family days out and other places to visit in and near Grande-Synthe. Best known first.
MuseumPalais de l'univers et des sciences de Cappelle-la-Grande4.9 km southeast, in Cappelle-la-GrandeZooZooBio-Topia Dunkerque1.9 km north, in DunkerqueAttractionAttractionRuines de l'ancienne écluse de Mardyck2.1 km northeast, in DunkerquePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
16 notable people were born in Grande-Synthe.
Lucas Pouille: si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rémy Vercoutre: S. Plaine, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Djamili Aboudou: National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, CC BY 4.0 · Clémence Beikes: Sanguinez, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Geoffrey Dernis: Manuel from Nantes / Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Erwin Zelazny: ESTAC Troyes, CC BY 3.0
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Grande-Synthe is a commune of 20,239 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grande-Synthe | 20,239 | — | D | B− | C | D− |
| Cappelle-la-Grande | 7,839 | 3.2 | C− | C+ | B+ | D |
| Dunkerque | 86,263 | 3.4 | D | C− | C− | D |
| Coudekerque-Branche | 20,787 | 3.8 | C− | C | B− | D |
| Loon-Plage | 5,952 | 3.9 | C | B− | B+ | D− |
| Téteghem-Coudekerque-Village | 8,247 | 5.7 | B− | D | A | D |
| Bourbourg | 6,931 | 6.5 | C+ | B− | C | D− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C for safety, #118 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 28 burglaries and 200 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 29% of compared French towns and #151 of 195 in Nord. 93% of 237 candidates passed the bac at Lycée du Noordover in 2025, a point below the expected rate 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 €1,593/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.57/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Grande-Synthe grades B− for cost of living.
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.