Alençon grades C overall: better than 29% of compared French towns, and #17 of 19 in Orne. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 14.9 recorded violent incidents and 29.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,379/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté urbaine d'Alençon.
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 Alençon 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.
Musée des beaux-arts et de la dentelle: This illustration was made by Peter Potrowl ., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Alençon.
Safety
Alençon has more crime per resident than 97% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,013 offenses in the graded categories in Alençon in 2025. 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, 0.1% of the index here. With 18,100 jobs for 8,550 working residents, Alençon draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
14.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage479
Other physical violence153
Family violence139
Sexual violence91
Burglary67
Theft from vehicles52
Vehicle theft32
Drug use264
Theft without violence258
Fraud157
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.
14.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
29.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,013
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
More people in Alençon are out of work than in Orne’s towns or across compared French towns: 18.8%
That puts Alençon above both Orne’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%). 28.7% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving66%
On foot17%
Bicycle6%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
18,100
jobs based in Alençon, 2.1 per working resident
18.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,150
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 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
31 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2021
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Alençon: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 25 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2021. 14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A−
The estimated advertised rent in Alençon is €10.10/m² a month, against €8.77/m² in Orne’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,379/m², comes from 870 sales of houses and apartments in Alençon from July 2023 to June 2026. In Alençon, houses go for €1,538/m² and apartments for €1,149/m².
€1,379/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Alençon€1,379/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Orne median€1,331/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,538/m²
501
Apartments
€1,149/m²
369
€10.10/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.88 to €12.96/m² a month)
3.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.43/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,590
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté urbaine d'Alençon
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
85.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the six collèges within 5 km, 0.9 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
91.3% of candidates passed the bac at the lycées within 5 km of Alençon, below both Orne’s towns (94.2%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Schools rank #11 of 13 in Orne.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
INSEE, census 2023 · Orne median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B−
Alençon’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 53% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 3,144 residents of Alençon died, against 3,048 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 3% more. Its six care homes for older people (458 places) count their residents as Alençon’s; allowing for them, deaths were 11% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw103
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
21
GPs in Alençon · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Intercommunal Alencon Mamers
0.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Intercommunal Alencon Mamers
84.6 · 79.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Orne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Romain Bréget · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison d'Ozé: Photo: Jmalo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tribunal de commerce: Photo: Romain Bréget · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hôtel de la préfecture (ancien Hôtel de Guise): Photo: DamTESC · CC BY-SA 3.0
Thérèse de Lisieux: Céline Martin, Public domain · Jacques-René Hébert: Edme Bovinet / After François Bonneville, Public domain · Jacques-Julien Houtou de La Billardière: Sketch by Julien Leopold Boilly , lithographer unknown., Public domain · Daniel Balavoine: Christian D'AUFIN, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles de Lorraine: After Étienne Dumonstier, Public domain · Anthony Geslin: Thomas Ducroquet, CC BY-SA 3.0
Alençon’s 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 Alençon
Is Alençon safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 67 burglaries and 479 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Alençon good?
They grade C, better than 26% of compared French towns and #11 of 13 in Orne. The lycée stands out: 100% of 57 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Saint-François de Sales 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.
Is Alençon expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,379/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Alençon grades A− for cost of living.
About Alençon
Commune in Orne, Normandy
Alençon is a commune of 25,490 people in the Communauté urbaine d'Alençon. 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
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.
