More weak spots than strong ones. Where it falls short is safety: an average of 28.8 recorded violent incidents and 23.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Overall, Le Cateau-Cambrésis earns a D, which places it #158 of 189 in Nord. Nationally, it does better than 6% of compared French towns. Its strongest subject is walkability — 88% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Pupils here do less well than most (D−): bac results 7.6 points below the expected rate; brevet results at the expected rate. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 13% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Le Cateau-Cambrésis 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 Le Cateau-Cambrésis.
Safety
Crime per resident in Le Cateau-Cambrésis runs higher than in 99% of compared French towns
28.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
The police record for Le Cateau-Cambrésis lists 314 offenses in 2025. The town has 3,250 jobs for 2,000 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. The graded crime recorded most here was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage107
Other physical violence79
Family violence69
Sexual violence22
Vehicle theft15
Theft from vehicles15
Burglary7
Drug use53
Theft without violence43
Fraud35
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.
28.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
314
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
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, 0.3% 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.
Schools
Brevet results near Le Cateau-Cambrésis run low: 72.0% passed, below Nord’s towns and compared French towns
89%passed the bac (general and technological)D−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 64% passed the bac pro, of 55 candidates. The bac pass rate near Le Cateau-Cambrésis is 78.1%, lower than both Nord’s towns (90.4%) and compared French towns (92.9%). The town’s schools place #186 of 195 in Nord on results.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Le Cateau-Cambrésis loses more people than its age profile suggests, 113 per 100 expected, above Nord’s towns and compared French towns
+13%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Nord, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.5 years for women and 78.8 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 1,015 deaths in Le Cateau-Cambrésis between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 687: 48% above. Also worth knowing: this Nord town has 5 family doctors.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw148
Adjusted113
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Le Cateau-Cambrésis · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de le Cateau
0.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de le Cateau
84.5 · 78.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Nord, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Le Cateau-Cambrésis has higher unemployment than Nord’s towns or compared French towns: 29.3%
21%walk, cycle or take transit
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €18,770 a year per consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 3.6% of working residents in Le Cateau-Cambrésis to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
On foot16%
Public transport4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle1%
3,250
jobs based in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1.7 per working resident
29.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€18,770
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 92% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
More protected monuments for its size in Le Cateau-Cambrésis than in Nord or compared French towns: 8.9 per 10,000 residents
6historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Just over one in ten homes were built before 1919. Among the classé monuments in Le Cateau-Cambrésis is Hôtel de ville. This Nord town has 6 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 3 classé, the highest protection, and 3 inscrit, the second level. Its heritage reaches back to the 17th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A−
Buying in Le Cateau-Cambrésis costs less than in Nord’s towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €778/m²
€778/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.40/m² a month, lower than both Nord’s towns (€11.81/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). No town in Nord costs less to buy into than Le Cateau-Cambrésis, at €778/m², the lowest of 200. Houses were 95% of what sold.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Le Cateau-Cambrésis€778/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nord median€1,810/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€756/m²
238
€9.40/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.70 to €11.48/m² a month)
2.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€21,850
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Caudrésis et du Catésis
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer people in Le Cateau-Cambrésis hold a degree than in Nord’s towns or compared French towns: 12%
42median age
People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town. 18% are under 15, close to both Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%). Le Cateau-Cambrésis has a median age of 42.
Le Cateau-CambrésisNord medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma36%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education12%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Édouard Mortier: Edouard Louis Dubufe, Public domain · Henri Lozé: Atelier Nadar., Public domain · Albert Seydoux: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Marcel Caruel: Marcel Caruel, Public domain
About Le Cateau-Cambrésis
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Le Cateau-Cambrésis is a commune of 6,764 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Caudrésis et du Catésis. 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
Population
6,764 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération du Caudrésis et du Catésis
Département
Nord (59)
Région
Hauts-de-France
Area
10.5 sq mi (27.3 km²)
INSEE code
59136
Le Cateau-Cambrésis’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Le Cateau-Cambrésis
Is Le Cateau-Cambrésis safe?
It grades D− for safety, #183 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 7 burglaries and 107 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Le Cateau-Cambrésis good?
They grade D−, better than 4% of compared French towns and #186 of 195 in Nord. 89% of 71 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Camille Desmoulins in 2025, 5 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Le Cateau-Cambrésis expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Le Cateau-Cambrésis grades A− for cost of living.
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.
