Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Saint-Calais’s overall grade is B, better than 64% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #23 of 31 in Sarthe. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Walkability is a strength too — 69% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The trade-off is safety (C): an average of 14.6 recorded violent incidents and 13.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jobs & income is weaker too (C): 2 jobs per working resident; 13.7% unemployment.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Saint-Calais 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 Saint-Calais.
HousingCost of living A+
A home in Saint-Calais sells for €940/m², less than in both Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €8.87/m² a month, below both Sarthe’s towns (€9.64/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Saint-Calais recorded 133 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026. Of the homes sold, 98% were houses.
€940/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Calais€940/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Sarthe median€1,638/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€939/m²
130
€8.87/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.65 to €11.84/m² a month)
2.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.71/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,520
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Vallées de la Braye et de l'Anille
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Older residents shape Saint-Calais: 39% are 65 or over, above Sarthe’s towns and compared French towns
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.6% of the population. 11% are under 15, below both Sarthe’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). Saint-Calais has a median age of 57.9 years.
57.9median age
Saint-CalaisSarthe medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
39%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma45%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat11%
Higher education11%
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%. 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
Saint-Calais has higher unemployment than Sarthe’s towns or compared French towns: 13.7%
At the census, 21.4% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Sarthe’s towns (10.7%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Jobs located in Saint-Calais: 1,800, for 900 residents in work (2 each). The median disposable income is €23,240 a year per consumption unit.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving70%
On foot17%
Motorbike or scooter3%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
1,800
jobs based in Saint-Calais, 2 per working resident
13.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,240
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 80% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Calais sees more crime per resident than 75% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Saint-Calais show 100 offenses in 2025. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes here.
14.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage33
Other physical violence26
Sexual violence19
Family violence13
Burglary9
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence14
Fraud12
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.
14.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
100
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
5.3%
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 · For vehicle theft and 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, 5.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Saint-Calais keeps more of its old housing than Sarthe’s towns or compared French towns: 17% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 1999. The protected list starts in the 19th century. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Saint-Calais: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level).
2historic monuments
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé1
Inscrit1
19th c.
oldest protected part
1840
first monument protected
1999
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Saint-Calais records 90 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 82 in Sarthe’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
831 deaths in Saint-Calais between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 654: 27% above. Life expectancy at birth in Sarthe is 85.9 years for women and 79.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Calais can choose among 2 GPs.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw127
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Saint-Calais · 1.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier St Calais
17.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Maternite centre hospitalier Vendome Montoire
85.9 · 79.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Sarthe, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Calais
Is Saint-Calais safe?
It grades C for safety, #22 of 31 in Sarthe. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 33 acts of criminal damage.
Is Saint-Calais expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Calais grades A+ for cost of living.
About Saint-Calais
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
Saint-Calais is a commune of 2,948 people in the Communauté de communes des Vallées de la Braye et de l'Anille. 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
2,948 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Vallées de la Braye et de l'Anille
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.
