Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, this town has 1,240 residents.
The local economy does well: 2.4 jobs per working resident; 4.9% unemployment. Health is a strength too — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 33% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying 70 m² at the median €1,608/m² takes 4.7 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Pays Sabolien. Two in five residents are 65 or over.
Figures: employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Solesmes 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.
The 3 things Solesmes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Solesmes 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.
Solesmes has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Solesmes: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Heritage and museums in and near Solesmes. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Solesmes.
Degrees are held by just over a third of adults, above Sarthe’s towns (22%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: 5.8% of residents. The age that splits Solesmes in two is 60.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
| Solesmes | Sarthe median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 5.8% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 40% | 26% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Higher education | 34% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Sarthe median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 247 deaths in Solesmes from 2016 to 2025; there were 193, 22% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Solesmes is Centre hospitalier Intercommunal, 6.7 mi away. There is one general practitioner here. In Sarthe, women can expect to live 85.9 years and men 79.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
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 · The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
42 sales of houses and apartments in Solesmes, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,608/m². From July 2023 to June 2026, 42 homes were sold in the town.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,608/m² | 42 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The median disposable income is €27,470 a year per consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 4.2% of working residents in Solesmes to work at the census. At the census, 12.9% of working residents in Solesmes didn’t travel to work at all.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Solesmes has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 0 inscrit, the second level. 11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Collège pupils travel 1.7 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Pierre ReverdyNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 134 | 75%−11 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Sainte-Anne PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 47 | 100%+2 pts |
| Collège Sainte-Anne PrivateBest against expectations: 8 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 91 | 99%+8 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Solesmes has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 2 people here, but for none of them do the articles confirm Solesmes as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solesmes | 1,240 | — | — | A | — | A |
| Sablé-sur-Sarthe | 12,326 | 1.8 | B− | A− | D | B+ |
| Précigné | 2,877 | 6 | A+ | B+ | A | B− |
| Noyen-sur-Sarthe | 2,556 | 9.2 | A+ | A | A− | A+ |
| Morannes sur Sarthe-Daumeray Maine-et-Loire | 3,687 | 10 | — | A | — | B+ |
| Durtal Maine-et-Loire | 3,386 | 12 | C | A− | C | C+ |
| Meslay-du-Maine Mayenne | 2,779 | 14 | A+ | A | A+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Solesmes has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.9 recorded violent incidents and 8.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade B−, better than 46% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 100% of 47 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Sainte-Anne in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. 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 €1,608/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Solesmes grades A for cost of living.
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
Solesmes is a commune of 1,240 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays Sabolien. 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.