Sées grades B+ overall: better than 73% of compared French towns, and #9 of 19 in Orne. Its weakest subject is safety (C−): an average of 18.7 recorded violent incidents and 11 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
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 Sées 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 Sées.
History
Sées keeps more of its old housing than Orne or compared French towns: 26% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On this, Sées is above both Orne’s towns (21%) and compared French towns (7.4%). For its size, Sées has 24 protected monuments per 10,000 residents. The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Sées: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 4 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A
The median sale price of homes in Sées is €1,196/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That is the middle of 122 sales of houses and apartments in Sées from July 2023 to June 2026, against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns and €1,331/m² for the median of compared towns in Orne.
€1,196/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sées€1,196/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Orne median€1,331/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,224/m²
101
€8.38/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.49 to €10.81/m² a month)
3.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.24/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,120
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Sources de l'Orne
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Money is tighter in Sées than in Orne’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €22,310 a year per consumption unit
In the comparison, Sées comes below both Orne’s towns (€23,600) and compared French towns (€25,970). Sées has 2,350 jobs for 1,500 working residents, 1.5 per worker. 19.9% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving72%
On foot16%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
2,350
jobs based in Sées, 1.5 per working resident
11.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,310
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Sées: 12% are 15 to 24, above Orne’s towns and compared French towns
People 65 and over make up 33% of the town, above both Orne’s towns (31%) and compared French towns (22%). Children under 15 make up 13% of residents.
51.8median age
SéesOrne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma36%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat13%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 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
Safety
Sées records more crime per resident than 80% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 118 offenses in the graded categories in Sées in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Sées, family violence came up most often (2025). For armed robbery, 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, 1.9% of the index here.
18.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence49
Criminal damage29
Sexual violence20
Other physical violence14
Burglary6
Fraud25
Theft without violence19
Drug use19
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.
18.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
11
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
118
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.9%
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
HealthHealth A−
Allowing for age and care homes, Sées sees fewer deaths than Orne’s towns or compared French towns: 77 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For Sées, that is below both Orne’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,044 residents of Sées died, against 903 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 16% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−23%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw116
Adjusted77
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Sées · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Intercommunal Alencon Mamers
13 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
Gaultier-Garguille: John Collins, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles de Bernard de Marigny: Antoine Maurin, Public domain · Pierre-Jean-François Vrigny: Audy jean-louis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Georges Ladrey: Faridagadri, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sées’ 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 Sées
Is Sées safe?
It grades C− for safety, #14 of 19 in Orne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 6 burglaries and 29 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Sées good?
They grade C+, better than 45% of compared French towns and #6 of 13 in Orne. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Sées expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €8.38/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Sées grades A for cost of living.
About Sées
Commune in Orne, Normandy
Sées is a commune of 4,168 people in the Communauté de communes des Sources de l'Orne. 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.
