Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 1,234: a town in Vendée, Pays de la Loire.
Health is a strength: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. It is hard to get around without a car (D). Incomes are on the low side: 0.2 jobs per working resident; 6.6% unemployment. At the median price of €2,363/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie 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 one thing Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie 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.
Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 0 inscrit, the second level.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie.
6.6% of the labour force were unemployed, below Vendée’s towns (7.7%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Walking, cycling and public transport carried 4.4% of commuters at the census. After tax and benefits, the median income is €25,340 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Vendée: 85.5 years for women, 80.2 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. France’s death rates at each age would predict 98 deaths in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie from 2016 to 2025; there were 90, 8% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie is Centre hospitalier Loire Vendee Ocean site de Challans, 7.8 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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic.
16% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Vendée’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%). Typical age in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie: 39.8, the median. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.7% of the population.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie | Vendée median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 16% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 13% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 30% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 26% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 25% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie is Pierre de criée de l'ancienne église. 5.5% of its homes were built before 1919, below 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
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,363/m², comes from 31 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie from July 2023 to June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €9.93/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,363/m² | 31 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage and other places to visit in and near Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie. Best known first.
Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie | 1,234 | — | — | B | — | A |
| Commequiers | 3,735 | 1.8 | — | B | — | B− |
| Coëx | 3,428 | 4 | — | C+ | — | C |
| Le Fenouiller | 4,978 | 4.5 | A− | C− | A+ | B |
| Soullans | 4,654 | 5.7 | B | C | A | B− |
| Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie | 8,333 | 6.1 | B | D | C | B |
| Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron | 2,727 | 6.5 | — | B | — | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 6.1 recorded violent incidents and 9.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,363/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie grades B for cost of living.
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie is a commune of 1,234 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. 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.