Pontoise grades D overall: better than 7% of compared French towns, and #58 of 73 in Val-d'Oise. Its weakest subject is cost of living (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 52% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Pontoise 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.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pontoise.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
On foot, Pontoise works better than 98% of compared French towns
The median disposable income was €24,740 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Val-d'Oise’s towns (€28,800) and compared French towns (€25,970). The unemployment rate comes to 11.7%. Jobs based in Pontoise number 15,100, against 14,300 residents in work (1.1 per worker).
52%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving44%
Public transport39%
On foot11%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
15,100
jobs based in Pontoise, 1.1 per working resident
11.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,740
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 98% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 16% of people in Pontoise are 15 to 24, more than in both Val-d'Oise’s towns and compared French towns
The 65-and-over age group makes up 13% of residents. 20% are under 15, close to Val-d'Oise’s towns (21%) and above compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by just over two in five adults.
34.2median age
PontoiseVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP17%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education42%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Val-d'Oise 51.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Val-d'Oise median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living D
Pontoise’s median home price is €3,108/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €17.79/m² a month, about level with Val-d'Oise’s towns (€18.09/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house in Pontoise goes for €3,526/m², an apartment for €2,972/m². Also worth knowing: among the homes sold, 26% were houses.
€3,108/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pontoise€3,108/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Val-d'Oise median€3,266/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,526/m²
222
Apartments
€2,972/m²
644
€17.79/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€15.01 to €21.09/m² a month)
8.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€16.67/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,700
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
82.6% of candidates passed the brevet at the 17 collèges within 5 km, 3.1 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Pontoise, 87.4% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with Val-d'Oise’s towns (87.0%) and below compared French towns (92.9%). Its schools’ results rank #51 of 76 in Val-d'Oise.
91%passed the bac (general and technological)DSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
More crime per resident in Pontoise than in 71% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 710 offenses in Pontoise in 2025. Graded property crimes ran at 17.5 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 8.8 (2023–2025 average). The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
8.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage196
Theft from vehicles111
Family violence104
Burglary98
Other physical violence84
Vehicle theft60
Sexual violence57
Theft without violence246
Drug use223
Fraud165
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.
8.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
710
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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 · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C+
Pontoise sees 93 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Val-d'Oise’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 19 general practitioners in Pontoise. Life expectancy in Val-d'Oise: 85.9 years for women and 81.1 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 1,922 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,790: 7% above.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw107
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
19
GPs in Pontoise · 1.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Novo site Pontoise
0.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Novo site Pontoise
85.9 · 81.1
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Val-d'Oise, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
12 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2006
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 2006. Before 1919: that is when nearly one in ten homes were built. Among the classé monuments in Pontoise is Cathédrale Saint-Maclou.
Nicolas Flamel: Balthasar Moncornet, Public domain · Philippe II de Bourgogne: anonymous, Public domain · Amine Harit: Nawfel Ajari, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc: François Kinson, Public domain · Jacques Vallée: Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Édouard-Alfred Martel: Nadar, Public domain
Pontoise’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 Pontoise
Is Pontoise safe?
It grades C for safety, #44 of 73 in Val-d'Oise. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 98 burglaries and 196 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pontoise good?
They grade D, better than 10% of compared French towns and #51 of 76 in Val-d'Oise. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pontoise expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Pontoise grades D for cost of living.
About Pontoise
Commune in Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France
Pontoise is a commune of 31,970 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise. 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
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.
