Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
8,768 residents make their home in this town in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
A tough set of grades. Its weakest is health (D−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 32% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Le Portel’s overall grade, D, puts it better than 15% of compared French towns. It ranks #76 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 0.8 jobs per working resident; 21.5% unemployment. Where it does best is walkability: 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,861/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération du Boulonnais. Schools are a strength too — bac results 1.2 points above the expected rate; brevet results 4.7 points above the expected rate.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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.
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 Le Portel does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Le Portel 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’s list holds 1 historic monument in Le Portel; none is classé, France’s top protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 20th century; the first monument here was protected in 2010.
2.1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Other places to visit, museums and heritage in and near Le Portel. Best known first.
AquariumNausicaá - Centre national de la mer2.4 km northeast, in Boulogne-sur-Mer
MuseumFort de la Crèche4.5 km north, in WimereuxAttractionAttractionFort d'Alprechin townFortFortFort du Mont de Couppesin townChâteauChâteauChâteau de Boulogne-sur-Mer3.1 km northeast, in Boulogne-sur-MerPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Le Portel.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Le Portel has 11 family doctors. Average lifespans in Pas-de-Calais: 83.5 years for women, 77.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. From 2016 to 2025, 1,018 residents of Le Portel died, against 736 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 38% more.
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 · That adjustment for care homes is a model of TownRatings’ own, not official data.
Half of residents lived on more than €20,870 a year per consumption unit, below both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 18.8% of commuters travelled at the census. At the census, 1.8% of working residents in Le Portel didn’t travel to work at all.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Among the graded crimes in Le Portel, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025). Recorded offenses locally came to 297 in 2025. Graded property crimes ran at 20.3 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 13.6 (2023–2025 average).
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 82% passed the bac pro, of 368 candidates at 5 lycées. At the collèges within 5 km of Le Portel, 89.3% passed the brevet, above both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (86.1%) and compared French towns (87.5%). Its schools’ results rank #23 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jean MoulinNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 94 | 89%+11 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Édouard BranlyNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 272 | 97%+2 pts |
| Collège AngellierBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 65 | 88%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,861/m², comes from 334 sales of houses and apartments in Le Portel from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Le Portel sell for €1,806/m² and apartments for €1,984/m². Estimated advertised rent for houses: €9.40/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,806/m² | 210 |
| Apartments | €1,984/m² | 124 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
2.1% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (4.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%). The protected list starts in the 20th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
12% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (12%) and compared French towns (11%). Children under 15 count for 18% of the people here. People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town.
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Le Portel | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 34% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 13% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Le Portel has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
3 notable people were born in Le Portel.
Lucien Leduc: Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 925-0975, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Auguste Defrance: Guillaume Defrance, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Portel | 8,768 | — | D | C | D | D− |
| Outreau | 13,138 | 0.7 | C− | C+ | C− | D− |
| Boulogne-sur-Mer | 40,539 | 1.6 | C− | C+ | D− | D |
| Équihen-Plage | 2,619 | 2.3 | — | C− | — | D− |
| Saint-Martin-Boulogne | 10,888 | 2.5 | C | C | C− | C− |
| Saint-Léonard | 3,353 | 2.5 | — | C | — | C |
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont | 5,029 | 3 | C+ | C | A− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #96 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 38 burglaries and 110 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A−, better than 84% of compared French towns and #23 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. The lycée stands out: 97% of 272 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Édouard Branly in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. 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 €1,861/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.48/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Le Portel grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Le Portel is a commune of 8,768 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Boulonnais. 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 November 4, 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.