Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 1,766 people, lies in Seine-Maritime, Normandy.
Fontenay’s strongest is jobs & income (B+) — 0.1 jobs per working resident; 4.9% unemployment. Housing is expensive: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also trails on walkability — 74% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 6% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Pupils here do less well than most (C+): bac results 4 points below the expected rate; brevet results 0.9 points above the expected rate.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education. Fontenay 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.
Each subject compares Fontenay 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.
Fontenay has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The one thing Fontenay does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Fontenay as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancien charnier, dit Aître de Brisgaret, in Montivilliers, 1 mi away.
Explore the history →Nothing in Fontenay is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fontenay.
Half of residents lived on more than €30,630 a year per consumption unit, higher than both Seine-Maritime’s towns (€24,015) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 5.6% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses are advertised at an estimated €12.02/m² a month. 39 houses and apartments changed hands in Fontenay from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,766/m² | 39 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
8.5% of residents are 15 to 24, below Seine-Maritime’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. People 65 and over make up 18% of the town. Degrees are held by nearly two in five adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Seine-Maritime 52.8%, France 51.8%.
| Fontenay | Seine-Maritime median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 26% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 19% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 18% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 8.6% | 25% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 23% | 28% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 26% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 39% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Seine-Maritime median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 76 residents of Fontenay died, against 91 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 16% fewer. Average lifespans in Seine-Maritime: 84.7 years for women, 78.7 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. The nearest emergency department to Fontenay is Hopital Jacques Monod Ch le Havre, 2.4 mi away.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C− to A.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Fontenay, 94.0% passed the bac, above Seine-Maritime’s towns (91.7%) and close to compared French towns (92.9%). The nearest collège is 1 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Raymond QueneauNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 117 | 90%±0 pts |
| Lycée Jean PrévostNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 360 | 94%−4 pts |
| Collège Institution Sainte-Croix PrivateBest against expectations: 5 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 110 | 100%+5 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Heritage, other places to visit and family days out in and near Fontenay. Best known first.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Fontenay yet.
Commune in Seine-Maritime, Normandy
Fontenay is a commune of 1,766 people in the Communauté urbaine Le Havre Seine Métropole. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontenay | 1,766 | — | — | C− | — | B |
| Montivilliers | 15,478 | 1.1 | C− | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Épouville | 2,601 | 1.7 | — | C | — | B+ |
| Fontaine-la-Mallet | 2,725 | 2.5 | — | D | — | A− |
| Octeville-sur-Mer | 6,172 | 3.1 | B | D | A+ | B− |
| Harfleur | 8,289 | 3.5 | D | C | C− | C+ |
| Gonfreville-l'Orcher | 8,916 | 4.2 | D− | C | C− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Fontenay has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.7 recorded violent incidents and 3.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade C+, better than 38% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.40/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Fontenay grades C− for cost of living.
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 November 4, 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.