Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,632 in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Challex has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is cost of living (C−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 7.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is health (A): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Challex does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Challex 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 Challex as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Borne frontière, in Chézery-Forens, 7.7 mi away.
Explore the history →Other places to visit and heritage in and near Challex. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Challex.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Challex sits below both Ain’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. From 2016 to 2025, 191 residents of Challex died, against 171 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 12% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
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
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
That puts Challex above both Ain’s towns (91.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Le ParuthiolNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 212 | 95%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
On this, Challex is above both Ain’s towns (€12.27/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €4,632/m², comes from 42 sales of houses and apartments in Challex from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,713/m² | 31 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
In the comparison, Challex comes below both Ain’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Children are 21% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Challex | Ain median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.1% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 12% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 40% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
For Challex, that is above both Ain’s towns (€27,670) and compared French towns (€25,970). Unemployment stands at 6.5%. Challex has 150 jobs for 750 working residents, 0.2 per worker.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Challex is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Challex.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challex | 1,632 | — | — | C− | — | A |
| Péron | 2,916 | 2.6 | A | C− | A | A |
| Thoiry | 6,569 | 3.9 | A− | D | B | A+ |
| Valleiry Haute-Savoie | 5,264 | 4.9 | B− | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Viry Haute-Savoie | 5,809 | 5.2 | B | C | B− | A |
| Saint-Genis-Pouilly | 14,432 | 5.4 | A | C− | B | A+ |
| Saint-Julien-en-Genevois Haute-Savoie | 16,222 | 5.6 | B− | C | C | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Challex has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.1 recorded violent incidents and 10.4 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 89% of compared French towns. 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 €4,632/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Challex grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Challex is a commune of 1,632 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Gex. 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.