Saint-Martin-la-Pallu’s overall grade, A−, puts it better than 82% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #13 of 29 in Vienne. Its best grade is for safety — an average of 4.3 recorded violent incidents and 7.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. The trade-off is walkability — nearly a fifth of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 2% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Incomes are on the low side: 0.2 jobs per working resident; 7.6% unemployment. At the median price of €1,661/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Haut-Poitou. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools and B for health.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Saint-Martin-la-Pallu 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.
Site antique des Tours Mirandes · Classé · Photo: Jm.durand · CC BY-SA 3.0
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu’s story
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 12 historic monuments in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level).
That’s 21 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 96% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5.
The oldest protected part dates from Antiquity; the first monument here was protected in 1923.
21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
The Culture ministry lists 12 historic monuments in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level).
Église Saint-Aventin: Photo: Gonetofrance · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Martin: Photo: PèreForez · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu is harder to get around on foot than 98% of compared French towns
2%walk, cycle or take transit
7.6% of the labour force were unemployed, close to Vienne’s towns (8.0%) and below compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, 3.5% of working residents in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu didn’t travel to work at all.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving93%
Motorbike or scooter1%
On foot1%
Public transport1%
Bicycle0%
600
jobs based in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu, 0.2 per working resident
7.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,850
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
D−
Walkability: better than 2% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu keeps more of its old housing than Vienne’s towns or compared French towns: 21% built before 1919
12historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 12 historic monuments in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments here is Site antique des Tours Mirandes. Houses and mansions, 7 of the 12, make up the bulk. The oldest protected building goes back to Antiquity.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
For crime per resident, Saint-Martin-la-Pallu sits below 95% of compared French towns
4.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA+Safety Grade
On the Safety Grade, Saint-Martin-la-Pallu ranks 3rd of the 29 compared towns in Vienne. For 2025, the figures show 58 offenses here. Family violence topped the graded crimes in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence27
Criminal damage20
Burglary11
Armed robbery0
Fraud33
Theft without violence9
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.
4.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
58
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
8.5%
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 · For other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 8.5% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living A
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu than in Vienne’s towns or across compared French towns: €9.33/m² a month
€1,661/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
165 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,661/m². The sales split: 99% houses, the rest apartments.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu€1,661/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Vienne median€1,790/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,661/m²
163
€9.33/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.23 to €12.04/m² a month)
4.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.45/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,970
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Haut-Poitou
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A town of families: 21% of people in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu are under 15, more than in both Vienne’s towns and compared French towns
41.2median age
People 65 and over make up 17% of the town, below Vienne’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Aged 15 to 24: one in ten residents. Among adults, 27% have a degree.
Saint-Martin-la-PalluVienne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
10%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma17%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Vienne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Vienne median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Martin-la-Pallu sees fewer deaths than 61% of compared French towns
−16%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Martin-la-Pallu records 84 deaths per 100 expected, between Vienne’s towns (80) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 444 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 420, 5% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Martin-la-Pallu is Polyclinique de Poitiers, 11.4 mi away. 7 GPs practise in the town.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw95
Adjusted84
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu · 3.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
11.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique de Poitiers
10.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique du Fief de Grimoire
85.8 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vienne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu is a commune of 5,713 people in the Communauté de communes du Haut-Poitou. 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
5,713 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes du Haut-Poitou
Département
Vienne (86)
Région
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Area
36.7 sq mi (95 km²)
INSEE code
86281
Saint-Martin-la-Pallu’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-Martin-la-Pallu
Is Saint-Martin-la-Pallu safe?
It grades A+ for safety, #3 of 29 in Vienne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 11 burglaries and 20 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Martin-la-Pallu good?
They grade B−, better than 53% of compared French towns and #3 of 26 in Vienne. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Martin-la-Pallu expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,661/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Martin-la-Pallu grades A 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.
