Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,698 people call this town in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes home.
Health outcomes beat most towns (A−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 22% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Cost of living is its weak spot: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for jobs & income and B− for walkability.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Châtillon-la-Palud has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Châtillon-la-Palud 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.
Châtillon-la-Palud has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry’s list holds 1 historic monument in Châtillon-la-Palud; none is classé, France’s top protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 16th century; the first monument here was protected in 1966.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Châtillon-la-Palud.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Châtillon-la-Palud’s deaths ran at 78 per 100 expected, near Ain’s towns (82) and lower than compared French towns (88). 87 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 111: 22% below. In Ain, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.9 years for women and 82 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France.
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 · 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.
People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town, below both Ain’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Children are a fifth of the town. Also worth knowing: among adults, 36% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Châtillon-la-Palud | Ain median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.6% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 17% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 12% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 36% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Châtillon-la-Palud recorded 52 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €12.90/m² a month, in line with Ain’s towns (€12.27/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). A house rents for an estimated €11.35/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,692/m² | 47 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Protection here reaches back to the 16th century. The Culture ministry’s list holds 1 historic monument in Châtillon-la-Palud; none is classé, France’s top protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Half of residents lived on more than €28,980 a year per consumption unit, higher than both Ain’s towns (€27,670) and compared French towns (€25,970). Châtillon-la-Palud holds 200 jobs; 850 of its residents are in work, so 0.2 jobs each. No commute at all: 3.9% of working residents in the town at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
2025 saw 19 offenses recorded in Châtillon-la-Palud. Violence against people ran at 4.7 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 9.9 (2023–2025 average). Of the graded crimes in the town, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For family violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 45.0% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Heritage and other places to visit in and near Châtillon-la-Palud. Best known first.
Châtillon-la-Palud has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Châtillon-la-Palud 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 →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtillon-la-Palud | 1,698 | — | — | C+ | — | A− |
| Villieu-Loyes-Mollon | 3,849 | 3.5 | B | C | C+ | B |
| Chalamont | 2,533 | 4.3 | A | B+ | B+ | C+ |
| Ambérieu-en-Bugey | 15,934 | 4.9 | C− | C+ | C− | C |
| Meximieux | 8,247 | 5.2 | C+ | C− | C+ | B− |
| Ambronay | 2,841 | 5.3 | A− | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Lagnieu | 7,411 | 6.7 | B+ | B− | B | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Châtillon-la-Palud has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 5 burglaries and 8 acts of criminal damage.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Châtillon-la-Palud grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Châtillon-la-Palud is a commune of 1,698 people in the Communauté de communes de la Dombes. 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.