Some subjects shine; others lag. Ambérieu-en-Bugey ranks #51 of 53 in Ain, with a C− overall. That leaves it better than just over a fifth of compared French towns. Safety is its weak spot: an average of 11.9 recorded violent incidents and 18.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. A 70 m² home at the median €2,333/m² costs 6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes de la Plaine de l'Ain. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 86% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 24% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Ambérieu-en-Bugey 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.
castrum de Saint-Germain: Photo: PPR38 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison-forte de Saint-Germain dite Tour de Gy: Photo: Classiccardinal · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ambérieu-en-Bugey.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
A walkable place: Ambérieu-en-Bugey beats 90% of compared French towns on foot
24%walk, cycle or take transit
13.0% of the labour force were unemployed, higher than both Ain’s towns (8.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Households’ median disposable income: €24,210 a year per consumption unit. Jobs located in Ambérieu-en-Bugey: 8,300, for 6,850 residents in work (1.2 each).
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving71%
Public transport14%
On foot8%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
8,300
jobs based in Ambérieu-en-Bugey, 1.2 per working resident
13.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,210
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Ambérieu-en-Bugey records more crime per resident than 82% of compared French towns
11.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Police and gendarmerie recorded 467 offenses in Ambérieu-en-Bugey in 2025. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage146
Family violence77
Other physical violence63
Vehicle theft63
Theft from vehicles51
Sexual violence34
Burglary33
Theft without violence127
Fraud123
Drug use43
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.
11.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
467
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 · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Ambérieu-en-Bugey run higher than in 71% of compared French towns
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (144 places) count their residents as Ambérieu-en-Bugey’s; allowing for them, deaths were 4% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 1,350 residents of Ambérieu-en-Bugey died, against 1,253 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 8% more. Life expectancy in Ain: 85.9 years for women and 82 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. 31 GPs practise in the town.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
31
GPs in Ambérieu-en-Bugey · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive D Amberieu
1.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive D Amberieu
85.9 · 82
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ain, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A young town: 13% of people in Ambérieu-en-Bugey are 15 to 24, more than in both Ain’s towns and compared French towns
37.5median age
Children are nearly a fifth of the town. 18% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Ain’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). The middle age in Ambérieu-en-Bugey is 37.5.
Ambérieu-en-BugeyAin medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
3 historic monuments in Ambérieu-en-Bugey, 1 classé
3historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
5.4% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Ain’s towns (7.9%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Ambérieu-en-Bugey is Château des Allymes. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 10th century. On the Culture ministry’s list, Ambérieu-en-Bugey counts 3 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 2 inscrit at the second.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C+
Ambérieu-en-Bugey’s grade for cost of living: a C+
€2,333/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
493 sales of houses and apartments in Ambérieu-en-Bugey, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,333/m². A house rents for an estimated €10.82/m² a month. Of the homes sold, 51% were houses.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ambérieu-en-Bugey€2,333/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ain median€2,641/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,332/m²
250
Apartments
€2,333/m²
243
€12.32/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.48 to €16.00/m² a month)
6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.82/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,250
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de la Plaine de l'Ain
Denise Perrier: Agip - (Fotocollectie Anefo), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mathieu Gorgelin: Jejecam, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Amédée Bonnet: Gnrc, Public domain · Christophe Nambotin: Arthurperso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean Vintzel: Fédération sportive et culturelle de France, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Luc Tissot: Clément Bucco-Lechat, CC BY-SA 3.0
About Ambérieu-en-Bugey
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Ambérieu-en-Bugey is a commune of 15,934 people in the Communauté de communes de la Plaine de l'Ain. 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
15,934 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes de la Plaine de l'Ain
Département
Ain (01)
Région
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Area
9.5 sq mi (24.5 km²)
INSEE code
01004
Ambérieu-en-Bugey’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 Ambérieu-en-Bugey
Is Ambérieu-en-Bugey safe?
It grades C− for safety, #50 of 53 in Ain. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 33 burglaries and 146 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Ambérieu-en-Bugey good?
They grade C+, better than 40% of compared French towns and #35 of 54 in Ain. 97% of 481 candidates passed the bac at Lycée de la Plaine de l'Ain in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ambérieu-en-Bugey expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,333/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €2,332/m² (250 sales), apartments €2,333/m² (243 sales). Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.32/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Ambérieu-en-Bugey grades C+ 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.
