Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,371 in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire.
Vaas has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (C−): 0.7 jobs per working resident; 12.2% unemployment. Its strongest is cost of living (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.3 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 3 things Vaas does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vaas 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 3 historic monuments in Vaas, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from prehistory; the first monument here was protected in 1926.
28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vaas.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €1,146/m², below Sarthe’s towns (€1,638/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Sales in Vaas from July 2023 to June 2026: 89 houses and apartments. House rents are put at about €7.38/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,146/m² | 89 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. People 65 and over make up 28% of the town, above both Sarthe’s towns (26%) and compared French towns (22%). Graduates make up 16% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
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.
| Vaas | Sarthe median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.4% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 20% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 28% | 26% | 22% |
| No diploma | 29% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 36% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Higher education | 16% | 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.
In Sarthe, women can expect to live 85.9 years and men 79.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 178 deaths in Vaas from 2016 to 2025; there were 197, 11% more. The town has one family doctor.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to B.
6.9% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Sarthe’s towns (10.7%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €24,520 a year.
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.
Its heritage reaches back to prehistory. The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Vaas, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Heritage and museums in and near Vaas. Best known first.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Vaas, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Dolmen de la Pierre Couverte: Photo: Gregofhuest · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château du Petit-Perray: Photo: HubertduMaine · CC BY-SA 3.0
One notable person was born in Vaas.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaas | 1,371 | — | — | A+ | — | C |
| Montval-sur-Loir | 5,641 | 5 | B | A | D | B+ |
| Mayet | 3,187 | 6.5 | A | A− | A | D |
| Le Lude | 3,983 | 7.9 | A− | A | C− | C+ |
| Écommoy | 4,868 | 11 | B | A | B | B |
| Noyant-Villages Maine-et-Loire | 5,448 | 14 | B+ | A | B− | A− |
| Laigné-Saint-Gervais | 4,252 | 15 | — | B+ | — | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Vaas has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.4 recorded violent incidents and 10 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Vaas grades A+ for cost of living.
Commune in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire
Vaas is a commune of 1,371 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
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.
