Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 9,808 people, this town lies in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Merville grades low on several counts. Its weakest is health — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 10% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (B+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. All told, that adds up to a C− overall and a rank of #125 of 189 in Nord. Set against the rest, it does better than 18% of compared French towns. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 0.8 jobs per working resident; 12.6% unemployment.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023.
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 Merville does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Merville 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 Merville as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Saint-Amé, in Lestrem, 2.6 mi away.
2.6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Merville.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
8 GPs practise in Merville. The nearest emergency department to Merville is Centre hospitalier D Hazebrouck, 7.2 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 734 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 890, 21% more. At birth, a girl in Nord can expect 84.5 years and a boy 78.8 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic.
The commonest graded crime in Merville was criminal damage (2025). Each year (2023–2025 average), violence against people came to 11.8 per 1,000 residents and the graded property crimes to 18.8. Police and gendarmerie recorded 318 offenses locally in 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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,769/m²: 299 houses and apartments sold in Merville between July 2023 and June 2026. Houses accounted for 96% of sales, apartments for the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,774/m² | 288 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
18% of residents have reached 65. Children under 15 make up 20%, above Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Add to that, the share aged 15 to 24 is 13%.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Merville | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 24% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 19% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €23,420 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 12.6%, about level with Nord’s towns (13.2%) and above compared French towns (10.1%). No commute at all: 3.6% of working residents in Merville at the census.
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.
At the lycées within 5 km of Merville, 93.0% passed the bac, higher than Nord’s towns (90.4%) and near compared French towns (92.9%). Its schools’ results rank #122 of 195 in Nord.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Saint-Robert PrivateNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 138 | 96%+5 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Val de LysNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 148 | 95%−1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Merville is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
5 notable people were born in Merville.
Augustin Berthe: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merville | 9,808 | — | C− | B+ | C− | D |
| Lestrem Pas-de-Calais | 5,009 | 2.8 | B+ | B− | A | C− |
| Estaires | 6,525 | 3.6 | C | B− | C+ | D |
| Vieux-Berquin | 2,628 | 3.6 | — | B | — | B |
| La Gorgue | 5,616 | 3.8 | B− | B | B+ | C− |
| Saint-Venant Pas-de-Calais | 2,999 | 4.6 | B− | B | C+ | D− |
| La Couture Pas-de-Calais | 2,590 | 5.3 | — | C | — | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #135 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 142 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 42% of compared French towns and #122 of 195 in Nord. 95% of 148 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Val de Lys 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 €1,769/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Merville grades B+ for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Merville is a commune of 9,808 people in the Communauté de communes Flandre Lys. 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.