Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,123 in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Brens has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is walkability (D−): 0% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its strongest is schools (B+): bac results 0.6 points above the expected rate; brevet results 0.6 points below the expected rate.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The one thing Brens does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Brens 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Brens as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne chartreuse de Pierre-Châtel, in Virignin, 1.7 mi away.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Heritage and other places to visit in and near Brens. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Brens.
At the census, 4.1% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Ain’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Brens has 100 jobs for 500 working residents, 0.2 per worker. The median disposable income is €28,060 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Too few homes sold here for a reliable median price, so the Cost Grade uses rent alone.
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
That puts Brens above both Ain’s towns (94.2%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Sabine ZlatinNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 165 | 84%−2 pts |
| Lycée Lamartine PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 73 | 100%+2 pts |
| Lycée professionnel Lamartine PrivateBest against expectations: 6 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 35 | 100%+6 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.
On this, Brens is above both Ain’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88). The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D 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
In the comparison, Brens comes below both Ain’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Children are 16% of the town.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Brens | Ain median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 15% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 33% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Brens is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Brens yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brens | 1,123 | — | — | C− | — | C+ |
| Belley | 9,388 | 2.6 | A− | B− | B− | B |
| Yenne Savoie | 3,026 | 3.7 | B− | C+ | A | C− |
| Saint-Genix-les-Villages Savoie | 3,095 | 8.4 | A− | C | B+ | A− |
| Les Avenières Veyrins-Thuellin Isère | 7,698 | 8.7 | C+ | B | B− | B+ |
| Le Bourget-du-Lac Savoie | 5,216 | 9.3 | A− | D | B+ | A− |
| Aoste Isère | 2,876 | 9.4 | B+ | C+ | A− | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Brens has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.9 recorded violent incidents and 7.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade B+, better than 73% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 100% of 73 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Lamartine 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.
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Brens is a commune of 1,123 people in the Communauté de communes Bugey Sud. 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) · 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.