Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 4,829: a town in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
Desvres’s best grade is for schools: brevet results 9 points above the expected rate. Taken together, its subjects give Desvres a B+ overall, better than just over two thirds of compared French towns. That places it #10 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. At the median price of €1,493/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes de Desvres-Samer. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 13% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The local economy is weaker than most: 1.2 jobs per working resident; 15.1% unemployment.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment, INSEE census 2023.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 2 things Desvres does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Desvres 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 Desvres as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne abbaye des Prémontrés, in Licques, 9 mi away.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Desvres.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Results rank its schools #3 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. For the general bac, the closest lycée is 9.4 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège du CaraquetNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 124 | 97%+9 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
10 GPs practise in Desvres. After the care-home adjustment, Desvres’ deaths ran at 113 per 100 expected, about level with Pas-de-Calais’ towns (115) and above compared French towns (88). 748 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 507: 47% above. Average lifespans in Pas-de-Calais: 83.5 years for women, 77.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
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 · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
Unemployment stands at 15.1%. No commute at all: 2.9% of working residents in Desvres at the census.
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.
Behind the median of €1,493/m²: 199 houses and apartments sold in Desvres between July 2023 and June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,493/m² | 199 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Violence against people averaged 11.6 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 10.5. 2025 saw 90 offenses recorded in Desvres. The graded crime recorded most locally was family violence (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 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, 3.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 12%. Children under 15 make up 18%, close to Pas-de-Calais’ towns (18%) and above compared French towns (17%). Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Desvres | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 23% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 28% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 17% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Desvres is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
7 notable people were born in Desvres.
Jean Molinet: Master of Antoine Rolin, Public domain · Paul Bacquet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desvres | 4,829 | — | B+ | A− | B− | D |
| Samer | 4,704 | 4.3 | B | B− | A | D− |
| Saint-Léonard | 3,353 | 9.2 | — | C | — | C |
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont | 5,029 | 9.4 | C+ | C | A− | C− |
| Saint-Martin-Boulogne | 10,888 | 9.7 | C | C | C− | C− |
| Neufchâtel-Hardelot | 4,115 | 9.9 | C | D− | B+ | C |
| Rinxent | 2,987 | 10 | — | B− | — | D |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B− for safety, #42 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 28 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A+, better than 99% of compared French towns and #3 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,493/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Desvres grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Desvres is a commune of 4,829 people in the Communauté de communes de Desvres-Samer. 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.