La Garnache grades A− overall: better than 77% of compared French towns, and #27 of 46 in Vendée. Its weakest subject is walkability (C−): 42% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,331/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Challans-Gois Communauté. Its strongest is safety (A): an average of 3.8 recorded violent incidents and 10.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 La Garnache 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 La Garnache.
Safety
Crime per resident in La Garnache runs lower than in 86% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 100 offenses in the graded categories in La Garnache in 2025. Of the graded crimes in La Garnache, criminal damage came up most often (2025). 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, 7.3% of the index here.
3.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearASafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage28
Theft from vehicles22
Burglary14
Vehicle theft14
Family violence13
Sexual violence9
Armed robbery0
Fraud21
Theft without violence10
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.
3.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
100
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
7.3%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Fewer commuters in La Garnache walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Vendée’s towns or compared French towns: 3.9%
On this, La Garnache is below both Vendée’s towns (7.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%). La Garnache has 1,400 jobs for 2,550 working residents, 0.6 per worker. 6.6% of the labour force are out of work.
4%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving90%
Motorbike or scooter2%
On foot2%
Bicycle1%
Public transport1%
1,400
jobs based in La Garnache, 0.6 per working resident
6.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,600
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 17% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Fewer deaths than La Garnache’s ages would predict, 79 per 100 expected, under Vendée’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In the comparison, La Garnache comes below both Vendée’s towns (85) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 539 residents of La Garnache died, against 533 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−21%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw101
Adjusted79
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in La Garnache · 3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Loire Vendee Ocean site de Challans
3.8 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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Garnache
Is La Garnache safe?
It grades A for safety, #17 of 46 in Vendée. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 28 acts of criminal damage.
Is La Garnache 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 €2,331/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.54/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so La Garnache grades C+ for cost of living.
About La Garnache
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
La Garnache is a commune of 5,515 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.
