Challans grades C+ overall: better than 37% of compared French towns, and #37 of 46 in Vendée. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is schools (B): bac results at the expected rate; brevet results 2.9 points below the expected rate.
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 Challans 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 Challans.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Challans: 33% are 65 or over, above Vendée’s towns and compared French towns
That puts Challans above both Vendée’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%). Children are 14% of the town.
52.5median age
ChallansVendée medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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.
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Challans has more crime per resident than 65% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 509 offenses in the graded categories in Challans 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, 0.1% of the index here. With 12,750 jobs for 8,400 working residents, Challans draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
8.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage203
Family violence72
Other physical violence61
Burglary49
Theft from vehicles49
Sexual violence39
Vehicle theft36
Theft without violence143
Fraud132
Drug use70
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.
8.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
509
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
2 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Challans: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). 2.6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Challans’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 50% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 2,768 residents of Challans died, against 2,886 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 4% fewer. Its four care homes for older people (291 places) count their residents as Challans’; allowing for them, deaths were 12% below expected. 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.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
19
GPs in Challans · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Loire Vendee Ocean site de Challans
0.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Loire Vendee Ocean site de Challans
85.5 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vendée, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Jacqueline Auriol: André Cros, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Constance Picaud: Liondartois, CC BY 4.0 · Olivier Perraudeau: Eric HOUDAS, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alfred Dauvergne: CVB, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Charles Gaudin: Crochet.david, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Joseph-Alexis Robert de Lézardière: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Challans’ 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 Challans
Is Challans safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #38 of 46 in Vendée. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 49 burglaries and 203 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Challans good?
They grade B, better than 64% of compared French towns and #23 of 34 in Vendée. The lycée stands out: 100% of 307 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Notre-Dame in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Challans 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 €2,632/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €2,632/m² (709 sales), apartments €2,642/m² (191 sales). Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Challans grades C− for cost of living.
About Challans
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Challans is a commune of 22,943 people in the Communauté de communes Challans-Gois Communauté. 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.
