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Living in Saintes

In Saintes, advertised rents for new lettings average €10.52 per m² a month (2025) and unemployment is 14.4% (2022).

The foreign population count was 926 in 2021. For Saintes, the unemployment rate was 14.4% at the end of 2022. Its population was 25,363 at the start of 2023.

Last checked 2026-09-2424 sources

Population25,363people1 Jan 2023Official source · INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune
Median gross salary (region)2,550EUR/month31 Dec 2022Official source · www.insee.fr
Average net rent10.52EUR/m²/monthcountry median €11.60 — 9% belowOfficial source · static.data.gouv.fr
Unemployment rate14.4%country median 11.0% — 31% aboveOfficial source · INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune
Recorded crime8,578incidents per 100,000country median 4,740 — 81% aboveOfficial source · Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026)

Cheaper rent than 63% of French cities that publish it, higher unemployment than 75% of French cities that publish it and more recorded crime than 96% of French cities that publish it.

Which France-wide rules apply when you move to Saintes?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in FranceNational rates and thresholds that apply in Saintes.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

How much does it cost to rent in Saintes?

Average net cold rent is 10.52 EUR/m² per month (2025-Q3), excluding heating and operating charges.

Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.

  • Average net rent (nettokalt): 10.52 EUR/m²/month · static.data.gouv.fr19
What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month
Saintes recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€43
Mobile plan, 10 GB€20
Net rent across major citiesSaintes highlighted among comparable cities
Net rent across major cities with Saintes highlighted

net rent, € / m² / month

Paris€26.30
Nice€20.43
Lyon€16.57
Marseille€16.30
Toulouse€13.98
Saintes€10.52
Show the other 6 cities
Bordeaux€15.99
Lille€15.76
Strasbourg€15.57
Montpellier€15.49
Rennes€14.87
Nantes€14.50
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited42.99 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Orange Livebox Fibre16Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB19.99 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Orange 100GB mobile plan15Official · national market
Housing vacancy rate (legacy series)1,369 %31 Dec 2023INSEE5Official
Dwellings15,894 dwellings31 Dec 2023INSEE6Official
Main residence dwellings14,103 dwellings31 Dec 2023INSEE6Official
Average net rent (nettokalt)10.52 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €11.6031 Dec 2025static.data.gouv.fr19Official

Is Saintes a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker45%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 36–54%
Skilled employee56%strong on work, weak on safety · range 48–64%
Student57%strong on education, weak on safety · range 50–64%
Family50%strong on family, weak on cost · range 43–57%
Retirement48%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 38–58%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About 631 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 10.52 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.

Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Source period: 2025-Q3

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Saintes?

The unemployment rate is about 14.4 % (2022). Source: INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune9

Unemployment across cities in FranceUnemployment in Saintes is 14.4%. Of 2,240 cities with data, 898 have unemployment of 5 to under 10%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Fibre-to-the-building availability93.82 %3 Aug 2026Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse)1Official
Gigabit broadband availability93.82 %31 Mar 2026Independent ARCEP municipal count of premises eligible for the >=1 Gbit/s fixed advertised-speed class, divided by the ARCEP type=all municipal premises denominator. This is availability/eligibility, not adoption, measured speed, FTTH-only coverage or mobile coverage.4Official
Median gross salary (regional)2,550 EUR/month31 Dec 2022www.insee.fr20Official
Unemployment rate14.4 %country median 11.0%31 Dec 2022INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune9Official

What does a salary buy in Saintes?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

regional median gross pay: €2,550 (insee.fr, 2022-12-31).
Left over each month€1,253of €1,947 take-home
  • Rent
  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Left over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
Each month€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions.€1,947
Rent, 60 m²€10.52/m² · official · static.data.gouv.fr · 2025-12-31− €631
Internet€43 · official · Orange Livebox Fibre · 2026-09-30− €43
Mobile plan€20 · official · Orange 100GB mobile plan · 2026-09-30− €20
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish€1,253
Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Saintes Salary needed to live in Saintes

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Saintes. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information
Open the France service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Saintes. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

MetricValuePeriodSource
Primary schools19 count3 Aug 2026Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr)11Official
Schools34 count3 Aug 2026Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr)11Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 3 to 16. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: UPE2A (unités pédagogiques pour élèves allophones nouvellement arrivés) + UPE2A-NSA variant. How to enrol a child (education.gouv.fr).

A country-wide rule for France; Saintes's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Healthcare

MetricValuePeriodSource
Hospital beds per 100,000 residents1,427 beds per 100,00031 Dec 2011DREES / DGOS – Statistique Annuelle des Établissements de Santé (SAE) 20113Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Saintes when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Hospital beds per 100,000 residents1,427 beds per 100,000Verified 2026-08-03
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is Saintes?

Police recorded about 8,578 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026)2

Recorded crime across major citiesSaintes highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Saintes highlighted

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Lille13,488
Lyon13,026
Bordeaux12,429
Marseille11,857
Paris10,987
Montpellier9,636
Toulouse8,875
Saintes8,578
Rennes8,241
Strasbourg7,791
Nantes7,704
Nice7,577
MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents8,578 incidents per 100,000country median 4,74031 Dec 2025Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026)2Official

Mobility and administration

Gigabit broadband availability was 93.8% in March 2026.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Nearest airportCNG3 Aug 2026OurAirports17Official
Distance to nearest airport27 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports17Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Saintes. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Contrat d’intégration républicaine (CIR) — Integration course

État français and OFII

For eligible non-EU foreign residents.

FrenchIn Person
Open official information

DIAN language-training offer finder — Other

Réseau des Carif-Oref and DIAN

For people seeking French-language training.

FrenchIn Person, Online
Open official information
Open the full France section
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Saintes.

Find courses near Saintes

Climate and air quality

MetricValuePeriodSource
Monthly extreme high temperatureJan 16.32 · Feb 21.62 · Mar 23.86 · Apr 28.31 · May 32.15 · Jun 37.89 · Jul 40.07 · Aug 41.31 · Sep 36.77 · Oct 29.92 · Nov 23.66 · Dec 18.05 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center13Official
Monthly extreme low temperatureJan -8.79 · Feb -10.59 · Mar -6.52 · Apr -1.74 · May 0.87 · Jun 6.1 · Jul 9.74 · Aug 9.47 · Sep 3.67 · Oct -1.88 · Nov -4.52 · Dec -8.85 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center13Official
Average temperature by monthJan 5.69 · Feb 5.91 · Mar 8.84 · Apr 11.75 · May 15.13 · Jun 19.02 · Jul 21.13 · Aug 21.17 · Sep 18.32 · Oct 14.32 · Nov 9.42 · Dec 6.14 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center13Official

Population and city profile

How many people live in Saintes?

The published population was 25,363 people in January 2023. Source: INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune8

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area45.55 km²31 Dec 2026Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte18Official
Foreign residents926 people2021Nationalité en 2021 — Base des tableaux détaillés — NAT114Official
Population density556.8 people/km²31 Dec 2023Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte18Official
Population25,363 people1 Jan 2023INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune8Official

International community in Saintes

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Citizenship

Population resident in France excluding Mayotte; INSEE RP2023 NAT; total age and sex · 2023 Census

Published groupPeopleShare
Total25,363100.0%
Français24,326.12495.9%
Etranger1,036.8764.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source10

Additional context

MetricValuePeriodSource
Universities0 count3 Aug 2026Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr)12Official

Alternatives for people set on Saintes

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Saujon as a Saintes alternative in the same region

24 km away, better on 4 of 6 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.

  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 4,160 Saujon vs 8,578 Saintes−52%
  • Nearest airport: 6.0 km Saujon vs 27.0 km Saintes−78%
  • Residents: 7,440 Saujon vs 25,363 Saintes−71%
  • Rent: €9.43/m² Saujon vs €10.52/m² Saintes−10%
  • Unemployment: 13.6% Saujon vs 14.4% Saintes−5%
  • Median gross pay, region: €2,550 Saujon vs €2,550 Saintessame level
Full comparisonMore about Saujon

Sartrouville as a Saintes alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 414 km, better on 4 of 5 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Rent cannot be compared like for like.

  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 4,581 Sartrouville vs 8,578 Saintes−47%
  • Median gross pay, region: €3,317 Sartrouville vs €2,550 Saintes+30%
  • Residents: 52,763 Sartrouville vs 25,363 Saintes+108%
  • Rent: €20.51/m² Sartrouville vs €10.52/m² Saintesno percentage
  • Unemployment: 10.5% Sartrouville vs 14.4% Saintes−27%
  • Nearest airport: 18.0 km Sartrouville vs 27.0 km Saintes−33%
Full comparisonMore about Sartrouville

Cities near Saintes

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Saujon 24.2 km away
Rent
9.43 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2025-12-31
Cognac 24.3 km away
Rent
9.82 EUR/m²/monthAverage net rent (nettokalt) · 2025-12-31

Alternative cities in France

Other cities in France to compare with Saintes, nearest in population first.

All France cities
Vernon25,290 residentsAlençon25,490 residentsBéthune25,224 residentsSaint-Ouen-l'Aumône25,578 residentsVichy25,115 residentsCavaillon25,636 residents

How does Saintes compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Saintes's.

Open the full comparison

Put Saintes's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Saintes?

The published population was 25,363 people in January 2023. Source: INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune.

How much does it cost to rent in Saintes?

Average net cold rent is 10.52 EUR/m² per month (2025-Q3), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 736 EUR a month before utilities. Source: static.data.gouv.fr.

How safe is Saintes?

Police recorded about 8,578 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026).

What is the unemployment rate in Saintes?

The unemployment rate is about 14.4 % (2022). Source: INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune.

What is the typical salary around Saintes?

The median gross salary is 2,550 EUR/month. Source: www.insee.fr.

How many foreign residents live in Saintes?

926 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Nationalité en 2021 — Base des tableaux détaillés — NAT1.

Is Saintes a good place to live?

Saintes may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Saintes?

Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Saujon, Cognac are near Saintes. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people are in the Français citizenship group in Saintes?

The official citizenship distribution records 24,326.124 people (95.9%) in the source-defined population for 2023 Census. This is a citizenship measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Saintes, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version b7a87791a8f97370628d22178d403f1c]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/saintes/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_saintes-france-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_f7d7165496bd,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Saintes, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {b7a87791a8f97370628d22178d403f1c},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/saintes/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Saintes, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/saintes/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version b7a87791a8f97370628d22178d403f1c; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse) data.arcep.fr · checked 2026-08-03
  2. Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026) static.data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-09-23
  3. DREES / DGOS – Statistique Annuelle des Établissements de Santé (SAE) 2011 data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
  4. Independent ARCEP municipal count of premises eligible for the >=1 Gbit/s fixed advertised-speed class, divided by the ARCEP type=all municipal premises denominator. This is availability/eligibility, not adoption, measured speed, FTTH-only coverage or mobile coverage. data.arcep.fr · checked 2026-03-31
  5. INSEE insee.fr · checked 2026-08-07
  6. INSEE insee.fr · checked 2026-08-07
  7. INSEE — Recensement de la population, populations légales millésime 2023 (data.gouv.fr mirror) INSEE · object.files.data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-07-03
  8. INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune insee.fr · checked 2026-07-26
  9. INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune INSEE RP2022 ACT1 · insee.fr · checked 2026-07-26
  10. Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), France api.insee.fr · checked 2026-08-30
Show 14 more sources
  1. Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr) data.education.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
  2. Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr) data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
  3. NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-03
  4. Nationalité en 2021 — Base des tableaux détaillés — NAT1 Nationalité en 2021 · insee.fr · checked 2026-07-15
  5. Orange 100GB mobile plan boutique.orange.fr · checked 2026-09-15
  6. Orange Livebox Fibre boutique.orange.fr · checked 2026-09-15
  7. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  8. Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte Séries historiques en 2023 · insee.fr · checked 2026-09-24
  9. static.data.gouv.fr static.data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-27
  10. www.insee.fr insee.fr · checked 2026-08-27
  11. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  12. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  13. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  14. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06

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