Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,799 residents make their home in this town in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Recorded crime is low: an average of 2.3 recorded violent incidents and 11.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It also does well on jobs & income — 0.6 jobs per working resident; 6.2% unemployment. At €2,641/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 6.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Val de Saône Centre. The trade-off is schools: bac results 2 points below the expected rate; brevet results 3 points below the expected rate. Overall, that makes an A, good for #13 of 53 in Ain. Set against the rest, it does better than 87% of compared French towns.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Montmerle-sur-Saône 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 one thing Montmerle-sur-Saône does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Montmerle-sur-Saône as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Hôtel-Dieu, in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, 1.8 mi away.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Nothing in Montmerle-sur-Saône is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Montmerle-sur-Saône.
The 2025 count: 51 offenses in Montmerle-sur-Saône. On the Safety Grade, Montmerle-sur-Saône ranks 3rd of the 53 compared towns in Ain. More of the graded crimes locally were burglary than anything else (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 · Small counts of other physical violence, sexual violence, armed robbery, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 20.5% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Montmerle-sur-Saône come to 82 per 100 predicted. France’s death rates at each age would predict 398 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 402, 1% more. 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. 4 GPs practise in the town.
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.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
A collège lies 1 mi away. On school results, the town ranks #42 of 54 in Ain. Near Montmerle-sur-Saône, 93.9% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with both Ain’s towns (94.2%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège du Val de SaôneNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 180 | 88%−6 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent AiguerandeNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 364 | 96%−2 pts |
| Collège Émile ZolaBest against expectations: a point above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 170 | 89%+1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
At the census, 8.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Ain’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). After tax and benefits, the median income is €29,700 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.
134 sales of houses and apartments in Montmerle-sur-Saône, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,641/m². The split here: €2,854/m² for houses, €2,105/m² for apartments. House rents are put at about €11.22/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,854/m² | 93 |
| Apartments | €2,105/m² | 41 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
23% of residents are 65 or over. Children under 15 make up 18%, below Ain’s towns (20%) and close to compared French towns (17%). Line up the people of Montmerle-sur-Saône by age and the one in the middle is 46.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
| Montmerle-sur-Saône | Ain median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 17% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 31% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage and other places to visit in and near Montmerle-sur-Saône. Best known first.
3 notable people were born in Montmerle-sur-Saône.
Jean-Baptiste Noro: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Montmerle-sur-Saône is a commune of 3,799 people in the Communauté de communes Val de Saône Centre. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montmerle-sur-Saône | 3,799 | — | A | B− | A | B+ |
| Belleville-en-Beaujolais Rhône | 14,016 | 2.3 | C | C | C+ | C |
| Saint-Georges-de-Reneins Rhône | 4,677 | 2.7 | B+ | C+ | C+ | A− |
| Fareins | 2,533 | 4.4 | A+ | B | A− | A+ |
| Arnas Rhône | 4,601 | 5.5 | C+ | C− | C+ | D |
| Frans | 2,582 | 6.6 | A | B− | A− | B+ |
| Gleizé Rhône | 8,035 | 7 | B+ | C− | C | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A for safety, #3 of 53 in Ain. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 23 burglaries and 20 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 36% of compared French towns and #42 of 54 in Ain. 96% of 364 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Aiguerande in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,641/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.98/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Montmerle-sur-Saône grades B− for cost of living.
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 November 4, 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.