With a D overall, Calais is better than 8% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #96 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Its lowest grade is for safety — an average of 18.5 recorded violent incidents and 22.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It is easy to get around without a car (A): nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,636/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Grand Calais Terres et Mers. Health is a weak point: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 17% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Jobs & income is weaker too — 1.4 jobs per working resident; 22.3% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, 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.
Each subject compares Calais 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 Calais.
Safety
For crime per resident, Calais sits above 96% of compared French towns
In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in Calais. The town has 31,450 jobs for 23,150 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. All told, Calais had 2,691 recorded offenses in 2025.
18.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage911
Family violence597
Other physical violence462
Sexual violence268
Theft from vehicles265
Burglary117
Vehicle theft63
Armed robbery8
Theft without violence543
Drug use427
Fraud311
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.
18.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,691
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · 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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth D−
Calais earns a D− for health
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Calais’ deaths ran at 117 per 100 expected, near Pas-de-Calais’ towns (115) and higher than compared French towns (88). 7,255 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 5,396: 34% above. Life expectancy at birth in Pas-de-Calais is 83.5 years for women and 77.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. The town has 52 family doctors.
+17%deaths against expected, after care homesD−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw134
Adjusted117
Median town88
Expected100
52
GPs in Calais · 3.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Calais
1.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Calais
83.5 · 77.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pas-de-Calais, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Calais has higher unemployment than Pas-de-Calais’ towns or compared French towns: 22.3%
The median disposable income was €20,270 a year per consumption unit, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. At the census, 21.5% of commuters got to work without a car.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
Public transport9%
On foot9%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
31,450
jobs based in Calais, 1.4 per working resident
22.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,270
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
2%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 94% 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 Calais: 14% are 15 to 24, above Pas-de-Calais’ towns and compared French towns
People 65 and over make up nearly a fifth of the town, lower than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (20%) and compared French towns (22%). Line up the people of Calais by age and the one in the middle is 39.7. 18% of residents are children under 15.
39.7median age
CalaisPas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma29%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C+
Calais earns a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Calais: €1,546/m² for houses, €2,012/m² for apartments. 2,435 sales of houses and apartments here, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,636/m². The sales split: 75% houses, the rest apartments.
€1,636/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Calais€1,636/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pas-de-Calais median€1,668/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,546/m²
1,828
Apartments
€2,012/m²
607
€11.57/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.25 to €14.47/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.81/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,150
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Grand Calais Terres et Mers
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
13 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2005
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Calais is Tour du Guet. 5.2% of its homes were built before 1919, between Pas-de-Calais’ towns (4.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2005.
Tour du Guet: Photo: Stefi123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Colonne commémorative du débarquement de Louis XVIII à Calais: Photo: Costock · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Phare de Calais: Photo: Ottaviani Serge · Public domain
Gérard Debreu: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen, Copyright is with MFO, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Yvonne de Gaulle: Jens Gathmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Claire Lavogez: alainalele, CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Louis Fournier: Denisdfr, CC BY-SA 4.0
Calais’ 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 Calais
Is Calais safe?
It grades D− for safety, #107 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 117 burglaries and 911 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Calais good?
They grade B, better than 58% of compared French towns and #64 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. The lycée stands out: 99% of 135 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Saint-Pierre 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 Calais expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,636/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.57/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Calais grades C+ for cost of living.
About Calais
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Calais is a commune of 67,571 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Grand Calais Terres et Mers. 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
67,571 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Grand Calais Terres et Mers
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.
