The weak point is health: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 7% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. With a D− overall, Le Havre is better than 3% of compared French towns. At the median price of €2,299/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté urbaine Le Havre Seine Métropole. Fewer journeys need a car: 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 32% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and 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.
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 Havre 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.
Ancien prieuré de Graville ou ancienne abbaye de Sainte-Honorine: Photo: SF-scio24 · CC0 · Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Alexandre Prevot from Nancy, France · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hôtel de Brocques: Photo: Patrice78500 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Immeuble (ancienne maison de l'Armateur, actuellement Musée de l'Armement naval): Photo: Philippe Alès · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Le Havre.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
More people in Le Havre are out of work than in Seine-Maritime’s towns or across compared French towns: 18.5%
32%walk, cycle or take transit
Nearly a third of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Seine-Maritime’s towns (14.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. After tax and benefits, the median income is €22,480 a year per consumption unit.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving63%
Public transport18%
On foot11%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
73,400
jobs based in Le Havre, 1.2 per working resident
18.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,480
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 97% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth D
Mortality in Le Havre, once ages and care homes are allowed for, tops Seine-Maritime’s towns and compared French towns: 107 per 100 expected
+7%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Seine-Maritime: 84.7 years for women, 78.7 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. France’s death rates at each age would predict 15,796 deaths in Le Havre from 2016 to 2025; there were 18,887, 20% more. 153 GPs practise here.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw120
Adjusted107
Median town88
Expected100
153
GPs in Le Havre · 3.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique les Ormeaux
1.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive de L Estuaire
84.7 · 78.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Seine-Maritime, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
80.4% of candidates passed the brevet at the 21 collèges within 5 km, 0.5 points below the expected rate
92%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 82% passed the bac pro, of 887 candidates at 9 lycées. Its collèges and lycées rank #60 of 75 in Seine-Maritime on results.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Le Havre records more crime per resident than 81% of compared French towns
12.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Of the graded crimes in Le Havre, criminal damage came up most often (2025). For 2025, the figures show 5,117 offenses in the town. Jobs outnumber working residents in Le Havre (73,400 to 59,800): it draws people in from around. Graded property crimes ran at 17.4 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 12.5 (2023–2025 average).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,723
Other physical violence849
Family violence815
Burglary534
Theft from vehicles465
Sexual violence422
Vehicle theft288
Armed robbery21
Drug use1,780
Theft without violence1,699
Fraud1,166
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.
12.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
5,117
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
HousingCost of living C
Le Havre’s grade for cost of living: a C
€2,299/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Le Havre goes for €2,407/m², an apartment for €2,250/m². Behind the median of €2,299/m²: 6,754 houses and apartments sold in the town between July 2023 and June 2026. Houses made up 31% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Le Havre€2,299/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Seine-Maritime median€1,992/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,407/m²
2,098
Apartments
€2,250/m²
4,656
€12.36/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.39 to €16.28/m² a month)
6.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.77/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,960
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté urbaine Le Havre Seine Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
31 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1995
31historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 11th century. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1995. Most of the list is houses and mansions: 20 of 31. Among the classé monuments in Le Havre is Ancien prieuré de Graville ou ancienne abbaye de Sainte-Honorine.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Le Havre skews young, with 14% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in Seine-Maritime’s towns and across compared French towns
40median age
Degrees are held by 27% of adults. 21% of residents are 65 or over, below both Seine-Maritime’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%). The under-15s are 18% of the population here.
Le HavreSeine-Maritime medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma25%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Seine-Maritime 52.8%, France 51.8%.
Raymond Queneau: Jean-Max Albert, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Madeleine de Scudéry: Unidentified painter, Public domain · Julien Faubert: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paul Frère: Claude F. SAGE, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Louis Bachelier: Louis_jeune_.gif, Public domain · Jérôme Le Banner: Herman campos, CC BY-SA 3.0
About Le Havre
Commune in Seine-Maritime, Normandy
Le Havre is a commune of 166,687 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
Population
166,687 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté urbaine Le Havre Seine Métropole
Département
Seine-Maritime (76)
Région
Normandy
Area
20.5 sq mi (53.2 km²)
INSEE code
76351
Le Havre’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Le Havre
Is Le Havre safe?
It grades C− for safety, #49 of 70 in Seine-Maritime. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 534 burglaries and 1,723 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Le Havre good?
They grade C−, better than 17% of compared French towns and #60 of 75 in Seine-Maritime. 90% of 140 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Jules Siegfried in 2025, 4 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Le Havre expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,299/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.36/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Le Havre grades C for cost of living.
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.
