Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 3,103 residents, it is a town in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
La Sentinelle’s weakest is health (D−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 40% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €1,391/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Porte du Hainaut. It is easy to get around without a car: nearly three quarters of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. All told, that adds up to a D− overall, better than 4% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #177 of 189 in Nord. Safety is weaker too — an average of 10.8 recorded violent incidents and 26.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jobs & income is weaker too (D): 1.5 jobs per working resident; 19.2% unemployment.
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 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things La Sentinelle does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares La Sentinelle 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 →
La Sentinelle has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
The oldest protected part dates from the 19th century; the first monument here was protected in 2009.
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near La Sentinelle. Best known first.
MuseumMusée des Arts et de l'Archéologie de Valenciennes3.6 km east, in ValenciennesAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye de Fontenelle3.3 km south, in MaingChâteauChâteauChâteau Dampierre2.5 km northeast, in AnzinFortFortCitadelle de Valenciennes2.5 km east, in ValenciennesAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Valenciennes3 km east, in ValenciennesFortFortTour de la Dodenne3.3 km east, in ValenciennesPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Sentinelle.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Nord can expect 84.5 years and a boy 78.8 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 329 deaths in La Sentinelle between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 235: 40% above. Also worth knowing: there is one general practitioner in the town.
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.
La Sentinelle’s tally for 2025: 116 recorded offenses. It has 1,650 jobs for 1,100 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in the town.
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 and vehicle theft, 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, 4.0% 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.
17.2% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Nord’s towns (13.0%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Median disposable income comes to €20,760 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 77% passed the bac pro, of 572 candidates at 5 lycées. At the lycées within 5 km of La Sentinelle, 90.1% passed the bac, close to Nord’s towns (90.4%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). The closest collège is 1.1 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Joséphine BakerNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 74 | 64%±0 pts |
| Lycée Dampierre PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 29 | 100% |
| Collège Paul ÉluardBest against expectations: 8 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 94 | 84%+8 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 19th century. Among the classé monuments in La Sentinelle is Église Sainte-Barbe. 6.3% of its homes were built before 1919, near Nord’s towns (6.3%) and lower than compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
People aged 15 to 24 make up 12% of the town. La Sentinelle has a median age of 42.1 years. Children under 15 make up 18%, close to Nord’s towns (19%) and above compared French towns (17%).
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| La Sentinelle | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 25% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 22% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
90 sales of houses and apartments in La Sentinelle, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,391/m². The sales split: 91% houses, the rest apartments. The estimated advertised rent is €11.40/m² a month, about level with Nord’s towns (€11.81/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,427/m² | 82 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
La Sentinelle has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
Ensemble du coron de l'église: Photo: Jérémy Jännick · Public domain · Église Sainte-Barbe: Photo: Jérémy Jännick · Public domain
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in La Sentinelle yet.
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 Sentinelle | 3,103 | — | D− | B− | D | D− |
| Hérin | 4,169 | 1.3 | D | B− | C+ | D− |
| Trith-Saint-Léger | 6,019 | 1.4 | D | B− | C− | D− |
| Petite-Forêt | 5,054 | 1.5 | D | C+ | D− | D |
| Valenciennes | 43,468 | 1.5 | D− | C | D− | C− |
| Anzin | 13,183 | 1.9 | D | B− | D | D− |
| Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes | 7,080 | 2.3 | D | C+ | C | D |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #166 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 16 burglaries and 46 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 32% of compared French towns and #142 of 195 in Nord. 100% of 29 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Dampierre 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 €1,391/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Sentinelle grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
La Sentinelle is a commune of 3,103 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de la Porte du Hainaut. 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.
