Sens grades C− overall: better than 16% of compared French towns, and #16 of 19 in Yonne. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 13.8 recorded violent incidents and 22.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,723/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Sénonais. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 98% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 33% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Sens 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 Sens.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Sens has higher unemployment than Yonne’s towns or compared French towns: 20.1%
For its 9,150 residents in work, Sens has 16,100 jobs: 1.8 each. Half of residents lived on more than €20,780 a year per consumption unit, below Yonne’s towns (€23,390) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Public transport took 13.2% of Sens’ working residents to work at the census.
33%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving61%
On foot14%
Public transport13%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
16,100
jobs based in Sens, 1.8 per working resident
20.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,780
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Sens runs higher than in 92% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 914 offenses in Sens in 2025. The graded crime recorded most locally was criminal damage (2025).
13.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage308
Family violence155
Other physical violence154
Burglary96
Sexual violence78
Theft from vehicles62
Vehicle theft61
Theft without violence227
Drug use220
Fraud152
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.
13.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
914
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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 armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Sens has 39 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sens has 14 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Yonne’s towns (5.9) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments locally is Enceinte (ancienne). Its heritage reaches back to Antiquity. Homes built before 1919 account for 13% of the housing.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Sens run higher than in 61% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Sens’ deaths ran at 92 per 100 expected, close to Yonne’s towns (95) and above compared French towns (88). 3,175 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 2,998: 6% above. In Yonne, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.2 years for women and 78.1 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. This Yonne town has 24 family doctors.
−8%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted92
Median town88
Expected100
24
GPs in Sens · 3.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Sens
0.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Sens
84.2 · 78.1
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Yonne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
The median home in Sens sells for €1,723/m², against €1,433/m² in Yonne’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Sens sell for €1,665/m², houses for €1,813/m². A house rents for an estimated €10.43/m² a month. The sales split: 40% houses, the rest apartments.
€1,723/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Sens€1,723/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Yonne median€1,433/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,813/m²
382
Apartments
€1,665/m²
564
€12.25/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.91 to €15.14/m² a month)
5.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.43/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,840
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Sénonais
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Children make up 19% of Sens, above Yonne’s towns and compared French towns
A quarter of adults hold a degree, between Yonne’s towns (21%) and compared French towns (30%). People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town. The 65-and-over age group makes up 23% of residents.
42.1median age
SensYonne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Sens
Is Sens safe?
It grades D for safety, #14 of 19 in Yonne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 96 burglaries and 308 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Sens good?
They grade C+, better than 43% of compared French towns and #7 of 18 in Yonne. The lycée stands out: 100% of 104 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent privé Saint-Étienne in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Sens expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.25/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Sens grades C+ for cost of living.
About Sens
Commune in Yonne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Sens is a commune of 27,106 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Sénonais. 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.
