Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
5,054 people live in this town in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Safety lags: an average of 11 recorded violent incidents and 30.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With a D overall, Petite-Forêt is better than 7% of compared French towns and ranks #157 of 189 in Nord. A 70 m² home at the median €1,564/m² costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Valenciennes Métropole. Fewer journeys need a car: 97% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 13% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. It lags on health as well: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 5% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · 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.
The 3 things Petite-Forêt does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Petite-Forêt 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 Petite-Forêt as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Sainte-Barbe, in La Sentinelle, 1.5 mi away.
3.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Petite-Forêt. Best known first.
MuseumMusée des Arts et de l'Archéologie de Valenciennes4.1 km southeast, in ValenciennesChâteauChâteauChâteau Dampierre2.1 km east, in AnzinMuseumMuseumFosse Arenberg4 km west, in WallersFortFortCitadelle de Valenciennes3 km southeast, in ValenciennesAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye de Vicogne3.2 km north, in RaismesAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Valenciennes3.4 km southeast, in ValenciennesPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Petite-Forêt.
Of the graded crimes in Petite-Forêt, criminal damage came up most often (2025). 2025 saw 213 offenses recorded locally. Jobs outnumber working residents in Petite-Forêt (5,400 to 2,000): it draws people in from around.
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 (0.4% 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.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Petite-Forêt can choose among 3 GPs. After the care-home adjustment, the town’s deaths ran at 105 per 100 expected, near Nord’s towns (105) and higher than compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 331 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 348, 5% more. 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.
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 adjustment for care homes is TownRatings’ own modeling, not an official figure.
The median disposable income was €23,640 a year per consumption unit, about level with Nord’s towns (€23,900) and below compared French towns (€25,970). The jobless rate is 12.8%. Bus, tram or train carried 5.4% of working residents in Petite-Forêt to work 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.
Near Petite-Forêt, 90.1% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with Nord’s towns (90.4%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). Schools rank #156 of 195 in Nord. At the seven general lycées, 95% of 1,494 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Pierre Gilles de GennesNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 124 | 73%−7 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
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €11.19/m² a month, below both Nord’s towns (€11.81/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Behind the median of €1,564/m²: 127 houses and apartments sold in Petite-Forêt between July 2023 and June 2026. Houses made up 90% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,623/m² | 114 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
25% of adults hold a degree, about level with Nord’s towns (26%) and below compared French towns (30%). Children under 15 make up 19% of residents. At 41.3, the median resident of Petite-Forêt sits in the middle of the age range.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Petite-Forêt | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 20% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 25% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Petite-Forêt is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Petite-Forêt as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petite-Forêt | 5,054 | — | D | C+ | D− | D |
| Anzin | 13,183 | 1.2 | D | B− | D | D− |
| La Sentinelle | 3,103 | 1.5 | D− | B− | D | D− |
| Raismes | 12,199 | 1.5 | D− | B− | D | D |
| Beuvrages | 6,796 | 1.6 | D | B− | C+ | D− |
| Hérin | 4,169 | 1.7 | D | B− | C+ | D− |
| Valenciennes | 43,468 | 1.9 | D− | C | D− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D− for safety, #176 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 15 burglaries and 81 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 25% of compared French towns and #156 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 €1,564/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Petite-Forêt grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Petite-Forêt is a commune of 5,054 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Valenciennes Métropole. 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 October 30, 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.