Rennes

Cost of Living inRennes, France

Brittany, France228KHigh income

Purchasing Power vs. United States

Your money goes 1.35x further

Based on GDP per capita (PPP). France: $54,799/capita.

How Far Your Money Goes

Prices are 32% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.

Overall
1.5x further
Prices are 32% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
4.5x further
Prices are 78% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
1.4x further
Prices are 27% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
1.5x further
Prices are 34% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).

Income Category

High
World Bank GNI

Happiness

6.6 / 10

#26 globally

GDP per Capita

$54,799
PPP, International $

City Population

228K

Child Education

Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.

Public schools

Public-schooling rules are set nationally for France; Rennes-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.

Good public schools

Quality

Good public schools

Expat access

Available to residents

conditional

Instruction

French

Language fit is more manageable.

PISA / outcomes

Qualitative only

Using curated quality notes for now.

Why this quality rating

France has a strong national public-school system and a credible public option for families planning real local integration.

Why the expat-access rating looks like this

Resident families can generally use it, but daily schooling is in French and local catchment placement still matters.

⚠️ Homeschooling

Legal but heavily restricted since 2022

France tightened homeschooling laws significantly in 2022. Now requires prior authorization (not just declaration). Authorization is granted for limited reasons: health, disability, itinerant family, or specific pedagogical situation. Annual inspections required. Much harder than before for worldschooling families.

Homeschool legality in France — check current regulations before committing.

Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)

Childcare & Domestic Help

Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in France.

Full-time nanny (5 days)

$1,825-$4,000

Estimate-only country fallback

Live-in / 24-7 nanny

$2,175-$4,000

Estimate-only country fallback

Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)

Getting Around

Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Rennes is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.

Healthcare

System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in France.

Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.

255 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 2 months ago

Healthcare system

Strong

Good national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.

Public care

Strong

Broad public coverage, relatively low patient cost-sharing, and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.

Private care

Good

A meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.

UHC coverage

82/100

2023

Physicians

3.28/1k

2022

Hospital beds

5.65/1k

2022

Out of pocket

9%

2024

Outcome signals

Life expectancy

83.0 yrs

2024

Maternal mortality

7/100k

2023

Neonatal mortality

2.8/1k

2024

International patient readiness

Good

A visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse.

Pricing transparency

Limited

Multiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.

Facility coverage

Doctor: 92Pharmacy: 67Dentist: 35Laboratory: 22Hospital: 15Physiotherapy: 15Clinic: 9

Self-pay pricing visibility

No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in France yet.

This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.

Notable facilities

Polyclinique Saint-Laurent
Hospital · Emergency
Website
Hôpital Sud
Hospital · Emergency
Website
intensive
Clinique de l'Espérance
Hospital · Emergency
Website
Clinique mutualiste La Sagesse
Hospital · Emergency
Website
Hôpital Pontchaillou
Hospital · Emergency
Website
intensive
Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier
Hospital · Emergency
Website
psychiatrychild_psychiatry

System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01

Safety & Governance

Street Safety

Safety Index43/100
Crime Index57/100

Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.

Political Stability

Political Stability+0.01

World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.

Wages by Sector

SectorMedian
Agriculture & Farming
Construction
Finance & Insurance
Healthcare & Social Work
Information & Technology
Manufacturing
Professional & Scientific Services
Real Estate

2024 annual wages in Rennes, France · Source: Eurostat Regional

Price Comparison vs. US

beer
$7.00Estimated10% cheaper
bread 500g
$3.13Estimated8% cheaper
budget hotel
$32.50Estimated10% cheaper
childcare preschool
$987.44Estimated37% cheaper
cinema
$13.50Estimated18% cheaper
coca cola
$2.30Estimated7% more
eggs dozen
$4.63Estimated4% cheaper
gasoline liter
$1.94Estimated88% more
inexpensive meal
$19.31Estimated9% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$37.97Estimated44% cheaper
iphone
$1149.00Estimated15% more
jeans
$80.00Estimated56% more
latte
$4.20Estimated21% cheaper
luxury hotel
$575.00Estimated20% more
mcmeal
$10.00Estimated1% cheaper
milk liter
$1.52Estimated25% more
monthly pass
$65.10Estimated6% cheaper
nike shoes
$92.00Estimated1% more
rent 1br
$1146.30Estimated37% cheaper
rent 2br
$2100.00Estimated51% cheaper
rent 3br
$2126.33Estimated33% cheaper
subway fare
$2.15Estimated11% cheaper
taxi km
$1.71Estimated9% cheaper
utilities basic
$244.31Estimated14% more

Visa Information (US passport)

Short-stay entry

visa freeUp to 90 days

US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.

Long-Term Visa Programs

retirement

Visitor Visa France

12 monthsRenewable
12 months

Quick comparison FAQ

Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.

How far does your money go in Rennes compared with the US?

Your money goes about 1.3x further in Rennes than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for France here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

Is Rennes cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?

Rennes is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 32% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Rennes. We are using the country-level cost index for France here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How does rent in Rennes compare with New York City?

Rent in Rennes is about 78% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for France here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Rennes?

Groceries in Rennes are about 27% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 34% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for France here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.

About Rennes

Rennes is the capital of the Brittany region in northwestern France, set at the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers roughly 350 kilometers west of Paris. The city is connected to Paris-Montparnasse by TGV in about an hour and a half, and its local economy is anchored by automotive manufacturing at the PSA Stellantis plant, telecommunications research, two large universities, and a growing digital and cybersecurity cluster. The climate is oceanic with mild winters, cool summers, and rainfall spread across the year, moderated by Brittany's exposure to Atlantic weather systems. French is the working language, with English common in tech workplaces and research institutions. International access is via Rennes-Saint-Jacques airport with limited European routes, with most long-haul travel routing through Paris.