Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,525 in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Some subjects shine; others lag. The local economy is weaker than most: 0.4 jobs per working resident; 13.1% unemployment. It is easy to get around without a car: 69% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 25% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,397/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Health is a strength too — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 23% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. All told, that adds up to a C overall and a rank of #77 of 189 in Nord. Nationally, it does better than just over a third of compared French towns.
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.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The one thing Wattignies does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Wattignies 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 Wattignies as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Sainte-Rictrude, in Ronchin, 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 →Other places to visit, museums and gardens in and near Wattignies. Best known first.
MuseumPalais des Beaux-Arts de Lille4.9 km north, in Lille
MuseumMusée d'Histoire naturelle de Lille4.6 km north, in Lille
AttractionFort de Seclin3.7 km south, in Seclin
AttractionJardin des plantes de Lille3.5 km northeast, in Lille
MuseumMaison folie de Wazemmes4.1 km north, in Lille
Art galleryLa Malterie3.7 km north, in LillePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wattignies.
13.1% of the labour force were unemployed, near Nord’s towns (13.2%) and higher than compared French towns (10.1%). Median disposable income comes to €24,100 a year per consumption unit.
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.
Apartments in Wattignies sell for €2,191/m², houses for €2,464/m². 527 sales of houses and apartments here, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,397/m². Houses were 59% of what sold.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,464/m² | 310 |
| Apartments | €2,191/m² | 217 |
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.
Wattignies has 14 family doctors. 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. 1,132 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,283: 12% below.
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 · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
2025 saw 393 offenses recorded in Wattignies. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 7.1 violent offenses and 20.2 graded property crimes a year. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (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 · For armed robbery, 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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 13%. Children under 15 make up 20%, above Nord’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Typical age in Wattignies: 37.4, the median.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Wattignies | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 19% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 19% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 18% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 38% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Results rank its schools #80 of 195 in Nord. At the nine general lycées, 97% of 2,496 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jean MoulinNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 57 | 75%+1 pt |
| Lycée international MontebelloNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 407 | 95%+1 pt |
| Collège Saint-Joseph PrivateBest against expectations: 17 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 96 | 98%+17 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Wattignies is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Wattignies.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wattignies | 15,525 | — | C | C− | C | A− |
| Templemars | 3,669 | 1.1 | C+ | D | C+ | C |
| Faches-Thumesnil | 18,619 | 1.5 | D | C− | D | C |
| Emmerin | 3,026 | 1.8 | C+ | C− | B | D |
| Loos | 22,567 | 2 | C− | C− | D | C |
| Ronchin | 19,787 | 2.3 | C− | C− | C− | C |
| Houplin-Ancoisne | 3,326 | 2.4 | B | C− | B | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C for safety, #114 of 189 in Nord. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 55 burglaries and 139 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B, better than 60% of compared French towns and #80 of 195 in Nord. The lycée stands out: 95% of 407 candidates passed the bac at Lycée international Montebello 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.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,397/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Wattignies grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Wattignies is a commune of 15,525 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 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.