Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,077 in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Balan has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is jobs & income (A): 1.2 jobs per working resident; 8.8% unemployment.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Balan does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Balan 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.
Balan has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Balan as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église Saint-Maurice, in Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans, 4.5 mi away.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Balan.
In the comparison, Balan comes above both Ain’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). People 65 and over make up 9.5% of the town.
44% women, 56% men
About 77 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Balan | Ain median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 24% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 35% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 16% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 9.5% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 13% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 34% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For Balan, that is above both Ain’s towns (91.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Marcel AyméNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 105 | 90%±0 pts |
| Collège Saint-Louis PrivateBest against expectations: 3 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 180 | 95%+3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Balan sits below both Ain’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Balan above both Ain’s towns (€12.27/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €3,128/m², comes from 48 sales of houses and apartments in Balan from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,180/m² | 36 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
On this, Balan is above both Ain’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). The median disposable income is €28,680 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage and museums in and near Balan. Best known first.
Nothing in Balan is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Balan as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
Balan has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.7 recorded violent incidents and 5.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A−, better than 82% of compared French towns and #9 of 54 in Ain. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,128/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Balan grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Balan is a commune of 3,077 people in the Communauté de communes de la Côtière à Montluel. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.