Fontenay-le-Comte grades B+ overall: better than 70% of compared French towns, and #28 of 46 in Vendée. Its weakest subject is safety (C−): an average of 9.4 recorded violent incidents and 21.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,503/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Pays de Fontenay-Vendée. Its strongest is schools (A−): bac results 1.3 points above the expected rate; brevet results 1.1 points above 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 Fontenay-le-Comte 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 Fontenay-le-Comte.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Fontenay-le-Comte than in Vendée or compared French towns: 18 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1985. Fontenay-le-Comte has 25 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 8 classé, the highest protection, and 16 inscrit, the second level. Among the classé monuments here is Château de Terre-Neuve. Homes from before 1919 make up 19% of the total, above both Vendée’s towns (6.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
For crime per resident, Fontenay-le-Comte sits above 84% of compared French towns
With 10,500 jobs for 4,900 working residents, Fontenay-le-Comte draws people in from neighbouring communes. Over 2025, Fontenay-le-Comte logged 387 recorded offenses. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
9.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage133
Theft from vehicles61
Other physical violence47
Family violence39
Sexual violence38
Burglary38
Vehicle theft31
Theft without violence111
Fraud61
Drug use60
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.
9.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
387
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
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · 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. 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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
Exam results around Fontenay-le-Comte beat 81% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The brevet pass rate near Fontenay-le-Comte is 92.8%, close to Vendée’s towns (92.4%) and above compared French towns (87.5%). At the 2 vocational lycées within 5 km, 94% of 66 candidates passed the bac pro. Results rank its schools #16 of 34 in Vendée.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Unemployment in Fontenay-le-Comte, 12.9%, runs above Vendée’s towns and compared French towns
Households’ median disposable income: €24,230 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 17.0% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, higher than both Vendée’s towns (7.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot9%
Bicycle5%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter2%
10,500
jobs based in Fontenay-le-Comte, 2.1 per working resident
12.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,230
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 79% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Fontenay-le-Comte are 65 or over, more than in Vendée’s towns or compared French towns
Degrees are held by nearly a quarter of adults, below both Vendée’s towns (26%) and compared French towns (30%). Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 11% of the town.
50.9median age
Fontenay-le-ComteVendée medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B+
Deaths in Fontenay-le-Comte run below what its ages would predict: 81 per 100 expected, fewer than Vendée’s towns or compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,058 deaths in Fontenay-le-Comte from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,983, 4% fewer. At birth, a girl in Vendée can expect 85.5 years and a boy 80.2 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 10 GPs practise here.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Fontenay-le-Comte · 3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier site du Pole Sante Sud Vendee
1.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier site du Pole Sante Sud Vendee
85.5 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vendée, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €1,574/m² in Fontenay-le-Comte, apartments for €1,282/m². The median price, €1,503/m², comes from 605 sales of houses and apartments here from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €10.99/m² a month, close to Vendée’s towns (€11.32/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,503/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Fontenay-le-Comte€1,503/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Vendée median€2,339/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,574/m²
500
Apartments
€1,282/m²
105
€10.99/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.56 to €14.12/m² a month)
4.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.26/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,500
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Pays de Fontenay-Vendée
Château de Terre-Neuve: Photo: Gdf85 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison dite Maison Billaud: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison Millepertuis ou Maison Henri-IV: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison sise près de l'église Notre-Dame: Photo: Selbymay · CC BY-SA 3.0
François Viète: The original uploader was Dr. Manuel at German Wikipedia ., Public domain · Renée Carl: unknown (Gaumont), Public domain · Giovanni Bernaudeau: Thomas Ducroquet, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Augustin-Daniel Belliard: François Dubois, Public domain · Michel Crépeau: CEVIPOF Sciences Po, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jamy Gourmaud: G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fontenay-le-Comte’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 Fontenay-le-Comte
Is Fontenay-le-Comte safe?
It grades C− for safety, #43 of 46 in Vendée. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 38 burglaries and 133 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Fontenay-le-Comte good?
They grade A−, better than 81% of compared French towns and #16 of 34 in Vendée. The lycée stands out: 99% of 133 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 Fontenay-le-Comte expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,503/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Fontenay-le-Comte grades B for cost of living.
About Fontenay-le-Comte
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Fontenay-le-Comte is a commune of 14,059 people in the Communauté de communes Pays de Fontenay-Vendée. 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.
