Housing is within reach: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also does well on schools — brevet results 5 points above the expected rate. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for health, B− for jobs & income and B− for walkability. Homes go for a median €1,278/m².
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Ballon-Saint Mars has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Ballon-Saint Mars 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.
Château (donjon et ruines) · Classé · Photo: Mv287 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ballon-Saint Mars’ story
Ballon-Saint Mars in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Ballon-Saint Mars: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 13th century; the first monument here was protected in 1923.
25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Wikidata records 2 people born in Ballon-Saint Mars before 1900, the earliest Gilbert, Julien, Gabriel Rocquain-Devienne, in 1745.
Château (donjon et ruines): Photo: Mv287 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballon-Saint Mars.
HousingCost of living A+
Ballon-Saint Mars gets an A+ for cost of living
€1,278/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.35/m² a month, near Sarthe’s towns (€9.64/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Renting a house costs an estimated €7.36/m² a month. From July 2023 to June 2026, 101 homes were sold in Ballon-Saint Mars.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ballon-Saint Mars€1,278/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Sarthe median€1,638/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,278/m²
101
€9.35/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.65 to €11.42/m² a month)
3.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.36/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,080
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Maine Cœur de Sarthe
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Ballon-Saint Mars records 90 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 82 in Sarthe’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Ballon-Saint Mars is Centre hospitalier du Mans, 11.3 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 281 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 335, 19% more. At birth, a girl in Sarthe can expect 85.9 years and a boy 79.9 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 5 GPs practise here.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw119
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Ballon-Saint Mars · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
11.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Mans
11.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier du Mans
85.9 · 79.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Sarthe, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ballon-Saint Mars has lower unemployment than Sarthe’s towns or compared French towns: 6.6%
8%walk, cycle or take transit
Ballon-Saint Mars holds 550 jobs; 1,000 of its residents are in work, so 0.6 jobs each. 8.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Sarthe’s towns (10.7%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €24,620 a year per consumption unit.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving86%
On foot5%
Public transport3%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
550
jobs based in Ballon-Saint Mars, 0.6 per working resident
6.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,620
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 52% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 12% of people in Ballon-Saint Mars are 15 to 24, more than in both Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
43.2median age
23% of adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 18%, higher than Sarthe’s towns (17%) and near compared French towns (17%). The median resident of Ballon-Saint Mars is 43.2 years old.
Ballon-Saint MarsSarthe medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education23%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Sarthe median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Ballon-Saint Mars has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
4.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
The 2025 count: 20 offenses in Ballon-Saint Mars. Graded property crimes ran at 8.1 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 4.7 (2023–2025 average). More of the graded crimes in the town were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage12
Family violence8
Armed robbery0
Fraud8
Drug use0
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.
4.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
32.3%
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 · When other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (32.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Ballon-Saint Mars is a commune of 2,273 people in the Communauté de communes Maine Cœur de Sarthe. 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
Population
2,273 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Maine Cœur de Sarthe
Département
Sarthe (72)
Région
Pays de la Loire
Area
12.3 sq mi (31.7 km²)
INSEE code
72023
Ballon-Saint Mars’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
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.
