Fareins grades A+ overall: better than almost every compared French town, and #3 of 53 in Ain. Its weakest subject is walkability (C): 70% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 6% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,929/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Dombes Saône Vallée. Its strongest is jobs & income (A+): 0.8 jobs per working resident; 4.9% unemployment.
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 Fareins 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.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fareins.
HealthHealth A+
Allowing for age and care homes, Fareins sees fewer deaths than Ain’s towns or compared French towns: 64 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In the comparison, Fareins comes below both Ain’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 117 residents of Fareins died, against 182 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 36% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−36%deaths against expected, after care homesA+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw64
Adjusted64
Median town88
Expected100
0
GPs in Fareins · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
2.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique du Beaujolais
2.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique du Beaujolais
85.9 · 82
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ain, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Crime per resident in Fareins runs lower than in 84% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 40 offenses in the graded categories in Fareins in 2025. Violence against people ran at 2.6 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 12 (2023–2025 average). For family violence, other physical violence and sexual violence, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 24.4% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
2.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary19
Criminal damage9
Vehicle theft7
Theft from vehicles5
Armed robbery0
Fraud13
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.
2.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
40
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
24.4%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Fareins keeps more of its old housing than Ain or compared French towns: 21% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Fareins sits above both Ain’s towns (7.9%) and compared French towns (7.4%) on this measure. The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Fareins: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Fareins is Château de Fléchères.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Fareins
Is Fareins safe?
It grades A− for safety, #8 of 53 in Ain. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 9 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Fareins good?
They grade A−, better than 80% of compared French towns and #11 of 54 in Ain. The lycée stands out: 100% of 113 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Notre-Dame 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.
Is Fareins expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,929/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.54/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Fareins grades B for cost of living.
About Fareins
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Fareins is a commune of 2,533 people in the Communauté de communes Dombes Saône Vallée. 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
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.
