Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm’s best grade is for cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 5.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools are its weak spot (C−) — brevet results 5 points below the expected rate. The local economy is weaker than most: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 13.6% unemployment. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for health and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm 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.
Each subject compares Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm 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.
Ancienne abbaye royale: Photo: Spouik · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm.
Who lives here
An older town: 43% of people in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm are 65 or over, more than in both Vendée’s towns and compared French towns
61.3median age
One measure of family life: 11% of residents are under 15. The 15-to-24 age group: 6.7%, below Vendée’s towns (9.9%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Graduates make up 14% of adults.
Saint-Michel-en-l'HermVendée medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
43%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP38%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education14%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B+
Renting in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm costs less than in both Vendée’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €9.41/m² a month
€2,020/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €2,020/m², lower than both Vendée’s towns (€2,339/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 128 homes in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm€2,020/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Vendée median€2,339/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,020/m²
128
€9.41/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.07 to €12.52/m² a month)
5.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.60/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,930
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Sud Vendée Littoral
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm: 14% were built before 1919, more than in both Vendée’s towns and compared French towns
2historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm is Ancienne abbaye royale. Protection here reaches back to the 12th century. The town has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 56% of compared French towns
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
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. Its care home for older people (25 places) counts its residents as Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm’s; allowing for it, deaths were 14% below expected. 299 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 325: 8% below. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm is Centre hospitalier site de Lucon, 7.7 mi away.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
1
GPs in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier site de Lucon
14.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Saint Louis la Rochelle
85.5 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vendée, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm has higher unemployment than Vendée’s towns or compared French towns: 13.6%
7%walk, cycle or take transit
After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,770 a year per consumption unit. 6.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Vendée’s towns (7.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot3%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
450
jobs based in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm, 0.7 per working resident
13.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,770
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 54% of compared French towns
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm is a commune of 2,329 people in the Communauté de communes Sud Vendée Littoral. 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
Population
2,329 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Sud Vendée Littoral
Département
Vendée (85)
Région
Pays de la Loire
Area
22.2 sq mi (57.5 km²)
INSEE code
85255
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm’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 Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm
Is Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm safe?
Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.2 recorded violent incidents and 9.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Are schools in Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm good?
They grade C−, better than 15% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm grades B+ for cost of living.
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.
