Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie has a population of 2,779.
Saint-Nazaire’s strongest is walkability: 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Health lags (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 6% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,540/m² takes 7.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole. It also trails on jobs & income: 0.4 jobs per working resident; 10.5% unemployment.
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. Saint-Nazaire has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Saint-Nazaire 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.
Saint-Nazaire has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saint-Nazaire as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Villa Muchir, in Canet-en-Roussillon, 2.8 mi away.
3.5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Nazaire.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 254 residents of Saint-Nazaire died, against 239 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% more. Life expectancy at birth in Pyrénées-Orientales is 85.5 years for women and 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. The town has 3 family doctors.
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 figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Ranked by results, schools here are #45 of 46 in Pyrénées-Orientales. A collège lies 2.6 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Pau CasalsNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 184 | 87%−2 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.
Renting a house costs an estimated €11.73/m² a month. Houses accounted for 90% of sales, apartments for the rest. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 102 homes in Saint-Nazaire.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,630/m² | 92 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Over-65s are a quarter of the population. 18% are under 15, above Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (16%) and close to compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by 31% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Nazaire | Pyrénées-Orientales median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 9.4% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 28% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 31% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pyrénées-Orientales median and France median: the median of compared communes
Unemployment stood at 10.5%, about level with compared French towns (10.1%) and below Pyrénées-Orientales’ towns (14.7%). At the census, 3.7% of working residents in Saint-Nazaire didn’t travel to work at all. After tax and benefits, the median income is €25,110 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Saint-Nazaire. Best known first.
GardenArboretum du Mas Roussillon4.8 km north, in Canet-en-RoussillonChâteauChâteauChâteau de Canet-en-Roussillon4.8 km north, in Canet-en-RoussillonChâteauChâteauChâteau de l'Esparrou3.9 km northeast, in Canet-en-RoussillonMuseumMuseumCentre de Sculpture Romane4.6 km west, in CabestanyArt galleryArt galleryGalerie des Hospices4.6 km north, in Canet-en-RoussillonPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in Saint-Nazaire is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Saint-Nazaire yet.
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-Nazaire | 2,779 | — | — | C− | — | D |
| Alénya | 3,782 | 1.9 | B− | C− | A− | B− |
| Saleilles | 5,698 | 2.3 | C | D | A− | C |
| Canet-en-Roussillon | 13,227 | 2.7 | D− | D− | D− | C− |
| Cabestany | 10,465 | 2.8 | C+ | D | C+ | B |
| Saint-Cyprien | 12,068 | 3.3 | D | D | C− | C |
| Corneilla-del-Vercol | 2,696 | 3.4 | — | C | — | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Saint-Nazaire has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.4 recorded violent incidents and 9.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade C−, better than 15% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.16/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Nazaire grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitanie
Saint-Nazaire is a commune of 2,779 people in the Communauté urbaine Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole. 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 9, 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.