Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 4,494 people live in this town, in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
The picture is mixed. Saint-Nicolas’s overall grade, C, puts it better than just over a quarter of compared French towns. It ranks #59 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Incomes are on the low side: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 12.7% unemployment. Health is weaker too: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 5% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying 70 m² at the median €1,798/m² takes 4.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine d'Arras. Fewer journeys need a car: 54% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 22% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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 Saint-Nicolas does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Nicolas 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 Saint-Nicolas as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Chapelle des Chariottes, in Arras, 0.9 mi away.
1.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Saint-Nicolas. Best known first.
MuseumMusée des Beaux-Arts d'Arras1.7 km southwest, in Arras
AbbeyAbbaye Saint-Vaast1.7 km southwest, in Arras
MuseumCarrière Wellington2.7 km south, in Arras
FortCitadelle d'Arras3.1 km southwest, in ArrasAttractionAttractionBeffroi d'Arras1.6 km south, in ArrasPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Nicolas.
At the census, 21.8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, higher than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%). The jobless rate is 12.7%. The median disposable income is €23,000 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Pas-de-Calais: 83.5 years for women, 77.5 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. After the care-home adjustment, Saint-Nicolas’ deaths ran at 105 per 100 expected, between Pas-de-Calais’ towns (115) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 423 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 521, 23% 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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic.
Of the graded crimes in Saint-Nicolas, criminal damage came up most often (2025). The town’s tally for 2025: 146 recorded offenses. Violence against people averaged 14.6 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 15.1.
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 theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 2.1% of the index here. 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: 86% passed the bac pro, of 496 candidates at 3 lycées. Its schools’ results rank #39 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. At the four general lycées, 96% of 1,536 candidates passed the bac, at the expected rate.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Paul VerlaineNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 143 | 92%+2 pts |
| Ensemble Baudimont PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 363 | 99%±0 pts |
| Lycée professionnel Jacques Le CaronBest against expectations: 11 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 73 | 86%+11 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
People 65 and over make up 24% of the town, higher than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (20%) and compared French towns (22%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 12% of residents. Degrees are held by just over a quarter of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Nicolas | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 24% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 24% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Among the homes sold, 92% were houses. Estimated advertised rent for houses: €9.94/m² a month. Saint-Nicolas recorded 118 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,745/m² | 109 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Saint-Nicolas is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Saint-Nicolas.
René Camphin: EmilyTi, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Nicolas | 4,494 | — | C | B− | C− | D |
| Saint-Laurent-Blangy | 6,459 | 0.8 | C | C+ | C− | D |
| Sainte-Catherine | 3,471 | 1 | A− | C | B+ | C |
| Arras | 42,875 | 1.3 | C− | C | D | D |
| Anzin-Saint-Aubin | 2,833 | 1.9 | A | C− | A | B |
| Achicourt | 7,873 | 2.4 | C | C+ | C | D |
| Beaurains | 5,559 | 2.9 | C+ | C+ | C+ | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #78 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 16 burglaries and 48 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B+, better than 73% of compared French towns and #39 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. 99% of 363 candidates passed the bac at Ensemble Baudimont in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.42/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Nicolas grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Saint-Nicolas is a commune of 4,494 people in the Communauté urbaine d'Arras. 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.
