Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,130 in Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France.
Pierrelaye grades D− overall: better than 2% of compared French towns, and #66 of 73 in Val-d'Oise. Its weakest subject is schools (D−): bac results 5.7 points below the expected rate; brevet results 6.3 points below the expected rate. At the median price of €3,570/m², a 70 m² home costs 8.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Val Parisis.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Pierrelaye does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Pierrelaye 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 no building in Pierrelaye as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne abbaye de Maubuisson, in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, 2.4 mi away.
Explore the history →Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Pierrelaye. Best known first.
Art galleryAbbaye de Maubuisson3.9 km northwest, in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
MuseumMusée d'Art et d'Histoire Pissarro-Pontoise5 km northwest, in PontoiseChâteauChâteauChâteau de Pontoise5 km northwest, in PontoiseChâteauChâteauFort Saint-Sébastien4.5 km south, in Saint-Germain-en-LayeChâteauChâteauChâteau de Boissy4.7 km east, in TavernyChâteauChâteauErmitage4.9 km west, in PontoisePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pierrelaye.
On this, Pierrelaye is below both Val-d'Oise’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (22%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Val-d'Oise 51.5%, France 51.8%.
| Pierrelaye | Val-d'Oise median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 21% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 26% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 12% | 15% | 22% |
| No diploma | 19% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 22% | 20% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 33% | 38% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Val-d'Oise median and France median: the median of compared communes
35.2% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, close to Val-d'Oise’s towns (38.0%) and above compared French towns (13.4%). Pierrelaye has 3,000 jobs for 4,600 working residents, 0.7 per worker.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Pierrelaye, 84.7% of lycée candidates passed the bac, below both Val-d'Oise’s towns (87.0%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Le Petit BoisNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 99 | 87%+10 pts |
| Lycée MontesquieuNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 349 | 93%−2 pts |
| Lycée Edmond RostandBest against expectations: 3 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 113 | 82%+3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €17.96/m² a month, close to Val-d'Oise’s towns (€18.09/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €3,570/m², comes from 212 sales of houses and apartments in Pierrelaye from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,570/m² | 133 |
| Apartments | €3,570/m² | 79 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Police and gendarmerie recorded 318 offenses in the graded categories in Pierrelaye in 2025. For armed robbery, 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, 0.5% of the index here.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 542 residents of Pierrelaye died, against 532 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
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
Nothing in Pierrelaye is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Pierrelaye.
Léon Germain Pelouse: Fernand Cormon, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierrelaye | 10,130 | — | D− | D | D | C |
| Herblay-sur-Seine | 31,779 | 1.6 | C− | D | C | A− |
| Beauchamp | 9,849 | 1.9 | C+ | D | C+ | A− |
| Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône | 25,578 | 2.3 | D− | D | C | C− |
| Éragny-sur-Oise | 18,436 | 2.5 | C− | D | C | B+ |
| Montigny-lès-Cormeilles | 22,457 | 2.6 | D | D | C | B− |
| Bessancourt | 8,869 | 2.7 | C | D | B− | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #69 of 73 in Val-d'Oise. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 47 burglaries and 70 acts of criminal damage.
They grade D−, better than 4% of compared French towns and #71 of 76 in Val-d'Oise. 93% of 349 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Montesquieu in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,570/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €3,570/m² (133 sales), apartments €3,570/m² (79 sales). Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pierrelaye grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France
Pierrelaye is a commune of 10,130 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Val Parisis. 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.
