Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,636 in Vendée, Pays de la Loire.
L'Épine has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is schools (D): brevet results 7 points below the expected rate. At the median price of €4,545/m², a 70 m² home costs 11.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes de l'Île de Noirmoutier. Its strongest is walkability (B+): 65% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 13% 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 3 things L'Épine does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares L'Épine 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 L'Épine as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancien château, in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, 2 mi away.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2007.
Other places to visit, museums and heritage in and near L'Épine. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in L'Épine.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 6.7% of residents, below Vendée’s towns (9.9%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Under 15: 9.7% of residents. L'Épine has a median age of 58.5.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
| L'Épine | Vendée median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.7% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.7% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 40% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 20% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 25% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The closest lycée for the general bac is 13.1 mi off. The town’s pupils have a collège 2.3 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège MolièreNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 40 | 80%−7 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.
Behind the median of €4,545/m²: 129 houses and apartments sold in L'Épine between July 2023 and June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,545/m² | 129 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Vendée can expect 85.5 years and a boy 80.2 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. For a family doctor, residents of L'Épine have one GP on hand. After the care-home adjustment, the town’s deaths ran at 97 per 100 expected, above both Vendée’s towns (85) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 232 residents of L'Épine died, against 240 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 3% fewer.
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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic.
Of those in the labour force, 7.1% are unemployed. L'Épine holds 550 jobs; 600 of its residents are in work, so 0.9 jobs each. Households’ median disposable income: €24,800 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in L'Épine is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm L'Épine as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Épine | 1,636 | — | — | D | — | C |
| Noirmoutier-en-l'Île | 4,505 | 2.3 | D− | D− | C | D |
| Beauvoir-sur-Mer | 4,035 | 12 | C+ | C− | A | C |
| La Plaine-sur-Mer Loire-Atlantique | 4,760 | 12 | D− | C− | C+ | C− |
| Pornic Loire-Atlantique | 18,745 | 13 | C | D | C+ | B− |
| La Bernerie-en-Retz Loire-Atlantique | 3,536 | 13 | C | C− | B− | C+ |
| Saint-Gervais | 2,781 | 14 | — | C+ | — | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
L'Épine has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.6 recorded violent incidents and 20.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade D, better than 6% of compared French towns. 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 €4,545/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so L'Épine grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
L'Épine is a commune of 1,636 people in the Communauté de communes de l'Île de Noirmoutier. 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.