With a C− overall, Saint-Omer is better than 22% of compared French towns and ranks #65 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. Crime is the sore point: an average of 29.7 recorded violent incidents and 24.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A+): nearly nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 27% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €1,611/m²: 70 m² comes to 4.8 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer. Its schools beat most (A−): bac results 0.9 points below the expected rate; brevet results 3.1 points above the expected rate. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 7% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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 Saint-Omer 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 Saint-Omer.
Safety
Saint-Omer sees more crime per resident than 99% of compared French towns
With 7,700 jobs for 5,300 working residents, Saint-Omer draws people in from neighbouring communes. 2025 saw 727 offenses recorded in the town. The graded crime recorded most here was criminal damage (2025).
29.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage245
Family violence180
Other physical violence160
Sexual violence63
Burglary35
Theft from vehicles31
Vehicle theft13
Drug use315
Theft without violence143
Fraud127
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.
29.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
727
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.1% of the index here. 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.
History
Old homes shape Saint-Omer: 20% were built before 1919, more than in Pas-de-Calais’ towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Omer is Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame. The Culture ministry lists 29 historic monuments in the town: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 20 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been protected as a historic area since 2016. Protection here reaches back to the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income D
More people in Saint-Omer are out of work than in Pas-de-Calais’ towns or across compared French towns: 20.6%
Half of residents lived on more than €20,050 a year per consumption unit, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€22,665) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Bus, tram or train carried 7.4% of working residents in Saint-Omer to work at the census.
27%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot15%
Public transport7%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
7,700
jobs based in Saint-Omer, 1.5 per working resident
20.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,050
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Allowing for age and care homes, Saint-Omer sees 107 deaths per 100 expected, against 115 in Pas-de-Calais’ towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
1,584 deaths in Saint-Omer between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,123: 41% above. In Pas-de-Calais, women can expect to live 83.5 years and men 77.5 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. Also worth knowing: for a family doctor, residents of Saint-Omer can choose among 12 GPs.
+7%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw141
Adjusted107
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Saint-Omer · 3.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de la Region de Saint Omer
3.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de la Region de Saint Omer
83.5 · 77.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Pas-de-Calais, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Brevet results near Saint-Omer run high: 92.7% passed, above Pas-de-Calais’ towns and compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 79% passed the bac pro, of 233 candidates. 94.4% of candidates passed the bac at the lycées within 5 km of Saint-Omer, higher than both Pas-de-Calais’ towns (90.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Ranked by results, schools here are #31 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 17% of people in Saint-Omer are 15 to 24, more than in Pas-de-Calais’ towns and across compared French towns
30% of adults hold a degree, above Pas-de-Calais’ towns (22%) and close to compared French towns (30%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 17% of residents. Typical age in Saint-Omer: 36.7, the median.
36.7median age
Saint-OmerPas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. 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 B−
Saint-Omer earns a B− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,611/m², comes from 500 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Omer from July 2023 to June 2026. In Saint-Omer, houses go for €1,492/m² and apartments for €1,747/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.84/m² a month, close to Pas-de-Calais’ towns (€11.26/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,611/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Omer€1,611/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Pas-de-Calais median€1,668/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,492/m²
320
Apartments
€1,747/m²
180
€10.84/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.76 to €13.42/m² a month)
4.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.45/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,440
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer
Église Saint-Denis: Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Sépulcre: Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien collège des Jésuites Anglais: Photo: Original uploader was WDH62500 at fr.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Ancien collège des Jésuites Wallons, actuellement lycée Alexandre-Ribot: Photo: Grentidez · CC0
Joseph Liouville: Marie Liouville, Public domain · Alexandre Ribot: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · Alphonse de Neuville: Ferdinand Mulnier, Public domain · Jean-Yves Berteloot: Philippe Dulac, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Germaine Acremant: unknown (no credits), Public domain · Daniel Fasquelle: Ericwaltr, CC BY-SA 3.0
Saint-Omer’s 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 Saint-Omer
Is Saint-Omer safe?
It grades D− for safety, #117 of 120 in Pas-de-Calais. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 35 burglaries and 245 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Omer good?
They grade A−, better than 78% of compared French towns and #31 of 123 in Pas-de-Calais. 97% of 97 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général Notre-Dame de Sion in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Omer expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,611/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Omer grades B− for cost of living.
About Saint-Omer
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Saint-Omer is a commune of 14,382 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer. 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.
