Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Over-65s are 46% of the population. A town in Vendée, Pays de la Loire, home to 5,344 people.
The weak point is cost of living (C−) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Bretignolles-sur-Mer ranks #41 of 46 in Vendée, with a C overall. That leaves it better than 27% of compared French towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety, B− for health and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023.
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 Bretignolles-sur-Mer does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bretignolles-sur-Mer 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 2 historic monuments in Bretignolles-sur-Mer, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
1.4% 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 Bretignolles-sur-Mer.
Children under 15 make up 9.3%, below Vendée’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 6.1% of the town. The median resident of Bretignolles-sur-Mer is 62.9 years old.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Bretignolles-sur-Mer | Vendée median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.3% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.1% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 46% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 27% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Bretignolles-sur-Mer, houses go for €3,833/m² and apartments for €4,197/m². Estimated advertised rent for houses: €11.31/m² a month. The estimated advertised rent is €12.70/m² a month, about level with compared French towns (€12.41/m²) and above Vendée’s towns (€11.32/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,833/m² | 429 |
| Apartments | €4,197/m² | 76 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The unemployment rate comes to 11.2%. Per resident in work, Bretignolles-sur-Mer counts 0.8 jobs (1,200 jobs, 1,600 workers). At the census, 4.2% of working residents in Bretignolles-sur-Mer didn’t travel to work at all.
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.
The Culture ministry’s list holds 2 historic monuments in Bretignolles-sur-Mer; none is classé, France’s top protection. 1.4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
More of the graded crimes in Bretignolles-sur-Mer were criminal damage than anything else (2025). Police and gendarmerie figures for Bretignolles-sur-Mer show 95 offenses in 2025. The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 7 violent offenses and 15.3 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents.
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 · For other physical violence, 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, 1.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
7 GPs practise in Bretignolles-sur-Mer. The nearest emergency department to Bretignolles-sur-Mer is Centre hospitalier Cote de Lumiere, 9.6 mi away. 834 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 886: 6% below. Average lifespans in Vendée: 85.5 years for women, 80.2 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
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 · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
Heritage, museums and family days out in and near Bretignolles-sur-Mer. Best known first.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Bretignolles-sur-Mer, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Château de Beaumarchais: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dolmen dit La Pierre Levée de Soubise: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0
One notable person was born in Bretignolles-sur-Mer.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bretignolles-sur-Mer | 5,344 | — | C | C− | B− | B− |
| Brem-sur-Mer | 2,993 | 2.5 | — | C− | — | C |
| Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie | 8,333 | 5.3 | B | D | C | B |
| L'Île-d'Olonne | 2,802 | 5.8 | — | C− | — | C+ |
| Le Fenouiller | 4,978 | 6.1 | A− | C− | A+ | B |
| Coëx | 3,428 | 7 | — | C+ | — | C |
| Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez | 13,074 | 8.1 | B− | C− | B− | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B− for safety, #35 of 46 in Vendée. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 20 burglaries and 22 acts of criminal damage.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bretignolles-sur-Mer grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Bretignolles-sur-Mer is a commune of 5,344 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. 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 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.
