La Flèche grades C+ overall: better than 42% of compared French towns, and #28 of 31 in Sarthe. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 14.7 recorded violent incidents and 17.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Its strongest is cost of living (B+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
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 La Flèche 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.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
Zoo de La Flèche: This photo has been taken by Matthieu Sontag (User:Mirgolth) and released under the licenses stated below. You are free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit me as author, Wikimedia Commons as site and follow the terms of the licenses. Could yo…, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Flèche.
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in La Flèche than in 86% of compared French towns
La Flèche’s tally for 2025: 541 recorded offenses. Jobs outnumber working residents in La Flèche (7,600 to 5,650): it draws people in from around. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
14.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage192
Family violence78
Sexual violence78
Other physical violence74
Theft from vehicles50
Vehicle theft35
Burglary34
Armed robbery0
Drug use103
Fraud97
Theft without violence87
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.
14.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
541
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
HousingCost of living B+
La Flèche’s median home price is €1,680/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €10.19/m² a month, close to Sarthe’s towns (€9.64/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house in La Flèche goes for €1,722/m², an apartment for €1,333/m². Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 487 homes in the town.
€1,680/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Flèche€1,680/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Sarthe median€1,638/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,722/m²
433
Apartments
€1,333/m²
54
€10.19/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.97 to €13.01/m² a month)
4.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.71/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,630
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays Fléchois
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
7 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1987
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in the 16th century. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1987. 18% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Sarthe’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in La Flèche is Ancien collège des Jésuites, actuellement Prytanée national militaire.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C
More people in La Flèche are out of work than in Sarthe’s towns or across compared French towns: 12.9%
At the census, 15.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, higher than Sarthe’s towns (10.7%) and near compared French towns (13.4%). Median disposable income comes to €24,300 a year per consumption unit.
16%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot7%
Bicycle6%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
7,600
jobs based in La Flèche, 1.3 per working resident
12.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,300
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 68% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
La Flèche skews young, with 14% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Sarthe’s towns or compared French towns
27% of residents are 65 or over, about level with Sarthe’s towns (26%) and above compared French towns (22%). Half of La Flèche is older than 49.1, half younger.
49.1median age
La FlècheSarthe medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma28%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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
Schools
89.1% of candidates passed the brevet at the three collèges within 5 km, 2.7 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
By results, schools here place #17 of 34 in Sarthe. The bac pass rate near La Flèche is 93.3%, close to both Sarthe’s towns (92.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, La Flèche sees fewer deaths than 50% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,934 residents of La Flèche died, against 1,812 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 7% more. Its four care homes for older people (361 places) count their residents as La Flèche’s; allowing for them, deaths were 12% below expected. The nearest emergency department to La Flèche is Centre hospitalier Intercommunal, 7.8 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of La Flèche can choose among 14 GPs.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw107
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
14
GPs in La Flèche · 3.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Intercommunal
22.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique du Tertre Rouge Pole Sante Sud
85.9 · 79.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Sarthe, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Paul Henri Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jean Picard: Henri Testelin, Public domain · Liane de Pougy: Paul Nadar, Public domain · Pierre Roger: Ludoms, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles Godefroy: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · Dominique Chauvelier: Redzon, CC BY-SA 4.0
La Flèche’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 La Flèche
Is La Flèche safe?
It grades D for safety, #27 of 31 in Sarthe. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 34 burglaries and 192 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in La Flèche good?
They grade B−, better than 53% of compared French towns and #17 of 34 in Sarthe. The lycée stands out: 100% of 122 candidates passed the bac at Prytanée national militaire in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is La Flèche expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Flèche grades B+ for cost of living.
About La Flèche
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
La Flèche is a commune of 14,947 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays Fléchois. 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.
