Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Nord, Hauts-de-France, this town has 21,790 residents.
A town of contrasts. La Madeleine ranks #46 of 189 in Nord, with a B− overall. It comes out better than 50% of compared French towns. Where it falls short is cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 47% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Health is a strength too (A−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 23% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, 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 La Madeleine does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares La Madeleine 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 La Madeleine as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Porte de Gand et ensemble des fortifications, in Lille, 0.7 mi away.
Explore the history →Other places to visit, heritage and museums in and near La Madeleine. Best known first.
MuseumPalais des Beaux-Arts de Lille2.6 km south, in Lille
CathedralCathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille1.6 km southwest, in Lille
ChâteauChâteau de Flers4.7 km southeast, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq
MuseumMusée d'Histoire naturelle de Lille2.9 km south, in Lille
MuseumMaison natale de Charles de Gaulle1.3 km southwest, in LillePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Madeleine.
The median disposable income was €28,500 a year per consumption unit, above both Nord’s towns (€23,900) and compared French towns (€25,970). La Madeleine has 9,100 jobs for 10,900 working residents, 0.8 per worker. 11.7% of the labour force are out of work.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €3,333/m², above both Nord’s towns (€1,810/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). In La Madeleine, houses go for €3,595/m² and apartments for €3,220/m². Among the homes sold, 35% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,595/m² | 398 |
| Apartments | €3,220/m² | 741 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
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. From 2016 to 2025, 1,720 residents of La Madeleine died, against 1,655 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 4% more. For a family doctor, residents of La Madeleine can choose among 29 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 · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents. 16% of residents are 65 or over, below Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. La Madeleine has a median age of 36.5.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| La Madeleine | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 35% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 22% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 16% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 14% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 12% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 57% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 6.7 cases of violence against people and 22 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). Police and gendarmerie recorded 685 offenses in La Madeleine in 2025. Also worth knowing: more of the graded crimes in the town were criminal damage than anything else (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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.1% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For exam results, it comes #59 of 195 in Nord.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Saint-Jean PrivateNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 141 | 100%+4 pts |
| Lycée Valentine LabbéNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 219 | 93%+1 pt |
| Collège Communautaire PrivateBest against expectations: 23 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 85 | 87%+23 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in La Madeleine is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
11 notable people were born in La Madeleine.
Marcel Bernard: Le Miroir des sports, Public domain · Alphonse Merrheim: Alfred de Frenckel, Public domain · Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier: Julian Russell Story, Public domain · Albert Baert: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Paul Fressanges du Bost: Fressanges, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jacques Jourquin: Presse82, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Madeleine | 21,790 | — | B− | D | C− | A− |
| Saint-André-lez-Lille | 13,233 | 1.2 | C | D | C | C |
| Marcq-en-Barœul | 40,184 | 1.2 | B+ | D− | C+ | B+ |
| Marquette-lez-Lille | 12,622 | 1.5 | C | D | C− | C |
| Mons-en-Barœul | 21,105 | 1.7 | C− | C− | C− | B− |
| Lille | 238,246 | 1.7 | D | D− | D− | C− |
| Lambersart | 27,090 | 2 | B | D− | C | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #125 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 78 burglaries and 253 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B+, better than 67% of compared French towns and #59 of 195 in Nord. The lycée stands out: 93% of 219 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Valentine Labbé 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.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so La Madeleine grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
La Madeleine is a commune of 21,790 people in the Métropole Européenne de Lille. 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.