Good value, with catches elsewhere. Jobs and pay trail most towns (D): 1 job per working resident; 15.1% unemployment. Buying 70 m² at the median €1,175/m² takes 3.4 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Haut - Bugey Agglomération. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 85% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 18% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Overall, that makes a C+, better than 45% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #46 of 53 in Ain.
Figures: 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 Nantua 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 Nantua.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Incomes in Nantua run lower than in Ain’s towns and across compared French towns: a median €20,470 a year per consumption unit
17.6% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Ain’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. The unemployment rate comes to 15.1%. Nantua holds 1,300 jobs; 1,350 of its residents are in work, so 1 jobs each.
18%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot12%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,300
jobs based in Nantua, 1 per working resident
15.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,470
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 91% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Homes in Nantua cost less than in Ain’s towns and across compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,175/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
No town in Ain costs less to buy into than Nantua, at €1,175/m², the lowest of 60. Advertised rents are estimated at €10.28/m² a month, below Ain’s towns (€12.27/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. From July 2023 to June 2026, 106 homes were sold here.
€1,175/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Nantua€1,175/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ain median€2,641/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Apartments
€1,158/m²
83
€10.28/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.62 to €13.87/m² a month)
3.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.92/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,180
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Haut - Bugey Agglomération
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
80.9% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 6.7 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Nantua is 94.8%, about level with Ain’s towns (94.2%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). The town’s schools place #45 of 54 in Ain on results.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Nantua is higher than in 66% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Nantua show 96 offenses in 2025. Violence against people averaged 9.7 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 15.6. The graded crime recorded most here was criminal damage (2025).
9.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage38
Theft from vehicles21
Other physical violence20
Family violence17
Theft without violence23
Fraud21
Drug use6
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.
9.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
96
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
8.6%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For sexual violence, armed robbery, burglary and vehicle theft, 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, 8.6% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Nantua keeps more of its old housing than Ain’s towns or compared French towns: 16% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Nantua is Église Saint-Michel. Protection here reaches back to the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Fewer people in Nantua hold a degree than in Ain’s towns or compared French towns: 21%
23% of residents have reached 65. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Ain’s towns (20%) and close to compared French towns (17%). Nantua has a median age of 42.3 years.
42.3median age
NantuaAin medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ain median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, Nantua sees more deaths than 51% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 615 residents of Nantua died, against 464 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 33% more. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Nantua come to 88 per 100 predicted. The nearest emergency department to Nantua is Centre hospitalier du Haut Bugey Geovreisset, 7.5 mi away. At birth, a girl in Ain can expect 85.9 years and a boy 82 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw133
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Nantua · 1.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Haut Bugey Geovreisset
7.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier du Haut Bugey Geovreisset
85.9 · 82
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ain, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Corinne Niogret: Wayne77, CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Hellebuyck: Mickaël Roure, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Jean-Louis Aubert: Flickr user Randalfino, CC BY 2.0 · Xavier Tomas: Botend, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alphonse Baudin: Ernest Appert, Public domain · François Pupponi: Chris93, CC BY-SA 4.0
Nantua’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Nantua
Is Nantua safe?
It grades C for safety, #43 of 53 in Ain.
Are schools in Nantua good?
They grade C, better than 33% of compared French towns and #45 of 54 in Ain. 98% of 145 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Xavier Bichat in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Nantua expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Nantua grades A− for cost of living.
About Nantua
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Nantua is a commune of 3,416 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Haut - Bugey Agglomération. 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
Population
3,416 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Haut - Bugey Agglomération
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.
