Le Lude grades A− overall: better than 78% of compared French towns, and #15 of 31 in Sarthe. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (C−): 1.1 jobs per working resident; 12.2% unemployment. At the median price of €1,122/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Sud Sarthe. Its strongest is schools (A+): brevet results 8 points above the expected rate.
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 Le Lude 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 Le Lude.
Schools
Exam results around Le Lude beat 97% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On school results, the town ranks #3 of 34 in Sarthe. 93.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collèges within 5 km of Le Lude, higher than both Sarthe’s towns (89.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%). No general lycée lies within 5 km; the nearest is 11.4 mi away.
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Le Lude: 23% were built before 1919, more than in both Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Le Lude counts 13 protected monuments. Since 2025, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. On the Culture ministry’s list, Le Lude counts 5 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 4 inscrit at the second. Among the classé monuments in the town is Château du Lude.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Older residents shape Le Lude: 36% are 65 or over, above Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
Among adults, 14% have a degree. 13% are under 15, below Sarthe’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Add to that, the 15-to-24 age group makes up 8.7% of residents.
55.9median age
Le LudeSarthe medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
36%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma32%
CAP or BEP32%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education14%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Sarthe median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Le Lude, 12.2%, runs above Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
Median disposable income comes to €22,820 a year per consumption unit. On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 14.5% of commuters travelled at the census. At the census, 6.6% of working residents in Le Lude didn’t travel to work at all.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot8%
Bicycle5%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,550
jobs based in Le Lude, 1.1 per working resident
12.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,820
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 77% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Le Lude sees more crime per resident than three in four compared French towns
In 2025, 148 offenses were recorded in Le Lude. The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 14.7 violent offenses and 13.4 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
14.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage43
Other physical violence37
Family violence30
Burglary20
Sexual violence13
Vehicle theft5
Armed robbery0
Fraud28
Theft without violence17
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
13.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
148
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.4%
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 · For theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 2.4% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, Le Lude sees 91 deaths per 100 expected, against 82 in Sarthe’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Le Lude is Centre hospitalier Montval Sur Loir, 12.9 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 697 residents of Le Lude died, against 659 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% more. In Sarthe, women can expect to live 85.9 years and men 79.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. Also worth knowing: this Sarthe town has 4 family doctors.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Le Lude · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
12.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Montval Sur Loir
22.7 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
Pavillon de Malédor: Photo: HubertduMaine · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château de Lorrière: Photo: Gregofhuest · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maison des Architectes: Photo: Gregofhuest · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Le Lude
Is Le Lude safe?
It grades C− for safety, #23 of 31 in Sarthe. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 20 burglaries and 43 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Le Lude good?
They grade A+, better than 97% of compared French towns and #3 of 34 in Sarthe. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Le Lude expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,122/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Le Lude grades A for cost of living.
About Le Lude
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
Le Lude is a commune of 3,983 people in the Communauté de communes Sud 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
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.
