Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It skews young: only 11% of residents are 65 or over. This town in Vendée, Pays de la Loire has a population of 1,009.
La Merlatière’s strongest is schools — brevet results 3 points above the expected rate. Add jobs & income to its strengths — 0.6 jobs per working resident; 5.1% unemployment. Walkability is its weak spot (D−): 78% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 3% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. It also trails on health (C+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 9% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Homes sell for a median €1,846/m²: 70 m² comes to 5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Saint-Fulgent - Les Essarts.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. La Merlatière has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things La Merlatière does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares La Merlatière 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.
La Merlatière has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in La Merlatière as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église romane (ancienne), in Essarts-en-Bocage, 3.5 mi away.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Merlatière.
The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%. People 65 and over make up just over a tenth of the town. Degrees are held by 26% of adults, close to Vendée’s towns (26%) and below compared French towns (30%).
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
| La Merlatière | Vendée median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 11% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 13% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 34% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
Unemployment stood at 5.1%, lower than both Vendée’s towns (7.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how 2.7% of commuters travelled at the census. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €25,460 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The nearest collège is 2.9 mi away. The closest lycée for the general bac is 8 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Georges ClemenceauNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 110 | 90%+3 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.
The median price, €1,846/m², comes from 32 sales of houses and apartments in La Merlatière from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,846/m² | 32 |
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.
In Vendée, women can expect to live 85.5 years and men 80.2 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 49 deaths in La Merlatière between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 54: 9% below. The nearest emergency department to La Merlatière is Chd site la Roche Sur Yon, 8.5 mi away.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to A−.
Nothing in La Merlatière is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in La Merlatière.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Merlatière | 1,009 | — | — | B+ | — | C+ |
| Essarts-en-Bocage | 6,851 | 2.8 | A+ | B+ | B+ | A− |
| La Ferrière | 5,454 | 3.5 | A+ | B | A | A− |
| Dompierre-sur-Yon | 4,625 | 4.6 | A− | B− | A | C |
| Chauché | 2,613 | 4.7 | — | A− | — | C+ |
| Saint-Martin-des-Noyers | 2,560 | 6 | — | B+ | — | C+ |
| Bellevigny | 6,240 | 6.3 | A− | B | A+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
La Merlatière has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 7.5 recorded violent incidents and 9.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A−, better than 81% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,846/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Merlatière grades B+ for cost of living.
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
La Merlatière is a commune of 1,009 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Saint-Fulgent - Les Essarts. 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.