Bellême has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 4.8 recorded violent incidents and 29.5 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 €1,778/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes des Collines du Perche Normand. Its strongest is walkability (A): 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Bellême 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 Bellême.
Who lives here
An older town: 43% of people in Bellême are 65 or over, more than in Orne’s towns or compared French towns
For Bellême, that is above both Orne’s towns (31%) and compared French towns (22%). Children under 15 make up 9.9% of residents.
59.3median age
BellêmeOrne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
43%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma41%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat11%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 79 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Orne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Bellême is easier to get around on foot than 92% of compared French towns
At the census, 17.4% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, close to Orne’s towns (14.4%) and above compared French towns (13.4%). Bellême has 1,150 jobs for 500 working residents, 2.4 per worker. The median disposable income is €23,590 a year per consumption unit.
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving72%
On foot13%
Public transport3%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
1,150
jobs based in Bellême, 2.4 per working resident
9.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,590
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
10%
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
Safety
Bellême records more crime per resident than 89% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 76 offenses in the graded categories in Bellême in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Bellême, criminal damage came up most often (2025). For other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 16.1% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
4.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage68
Family violence8
Armed robbery0
Fraud9
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.
4.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
29.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
76
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
16.1%
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
HousingCost of living A−
Homes in Bellême sell for €1,778/m² at the median, against €1,331/m² in Orne’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,778/m², comes from 55 sales of houses and apartments in Bellême from July 2023 to June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €8.81/m² a month, close to Orne’s towns (€8.77/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,778/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bellême€1,778/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Orne median€1,331/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,687/m²
52
€8.81/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.79 to €11.43/m² a month)
5.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.46/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,470
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Collines du Perche Normand
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B+
Allowing for age and care homes, Bellême sees fewer deaths than Orne’s towns or compared French towns: 81 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
That puts Bellême below both Orne’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 581 residents of Bellême died, against 469 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 24% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw124
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Bellême · 2.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Mamers
22.3 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
Bellême is rich in protected monuments: 41 per 10,000 residents, more than Orne’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On this, Bellême is above both Orne’s towns (14) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2001. The Culture ministry lists 6 historic monuments in Bellême: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bellême
Are schools in Bellême good?
They grade C−, better than 24% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bellême expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bellême grades A− for cost of living.
About Bellême
Commune in Orne, Normandy
Bellême is a commune of 1,457 people in the Communauté de communes des Collines du Perche Normand. 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
1,457 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Collines du Perche Normand
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.
