Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,156 in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire.
Challes has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is walkability (D): 66% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,756/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes du Sud Est Manceau. Its strongest is schools (A): brevet results 4 points above the expected rate.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The one thing Challes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Challes 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 1 historic monument in Challes, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1973.
29% 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 Challes.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
That puts Challes above both Sarthe’s towns (89.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Louis CordeletNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 99 | 96%+4 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.
On this, Challes is below both Sarthe’s towns (€9.64/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,756/m², comes from 36 sales of houses and apartments in Challes from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,756/m² | 36 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
In the comparison, Challes comes below both Sarthe’s towns (7.9%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Challes has 200 jobs for 550 working residents, 0.4 per worker. 4.4% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
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.
From 2016 to 2025, 78 residents of Challes died, against 95 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% fewer. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C− to A.
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
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
For Challes, that is above both Sarthe’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (7.4%). The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Challes, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Challes sits below both Sarthe’s towns (26%) and compared French towns (22%) on this measure. People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
| Challes | Sarthe median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 26% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Sarthe median and France median: the median of compared communes
Challes has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Challes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challes | 1,156 | — | — | A | — | B+ |
| Parigné-l'Évêque | 5,358 | 3 | A+ | A− | A | B+ |
| Saint-Mars-la-Brière | 2,681 | 7 | — | A− | — | B+ |
| Changé | 6,911 | 7.2 | B+ | B+ | B | A− |
| Ruaudin | 3,481 | 7.3 | B+ | B | B− | B |
| Teloché | 3,067 | 7.4 | — | A− | — | B |
| Champagné | 3,666 | 7.6 | A | A− | B+ | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Challes has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.2 recorded violent incidents and 6.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A, better than 94% of compared French towns. 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 €1,756/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Challes grades A for cost of living.
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
Challes is a commune of 1,156 people in the Communauté de communes du Sud Est Manceau. 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 October 30, 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.