Villars-les-Dombes’s schools beat most: brevet results 3 points above the expected rate. It also does well on jobs & income (A): 0.9 jobs per working resident; 6.7% unemployment. What counts against it is cost of living (C): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Safety is weaker too: an average of 6.4 recorded violent incidents and 18.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. The overall grade lands at A−, #18 of 53 in Ain. Set against the rest, it does better than 83% of compared French towns.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Villars-les-Dombes 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A
For walkability, Villars-les-Dombes ranks above 92% of compared French towns
Unemployment stood at 6.7%, below both Ain’s towns (8.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Walking, cycling and public transport carried 23.9% of commuters at the census. At the census, 5.4% of working residents in Villars-les-Dombes didn’t travel to work at all.
24%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving70%
Public transport16%
On foot7%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,950
jobs based in Villars-les-Dombes, 0.9 per working resident
6.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,170
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 92% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Villars-les-Dombes is higher than in 66% of compared French towns
In 2025, 147 offenses were recorded in Villars-les-Dombes. The commonest graded crime in the town was family violence (2025). Police and gendarmerie recorded 147 offenses in the graded categories in the town in 2025.
6.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence37
Burglary37
Criminal damage30
Theft from vehicles17
Vehicle theft11
Sexual violence8
Other physical violence7
Fraud42
Theft without violence31
Drug use10
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.
6.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
147
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.2%
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 armed robbery, 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, 2.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living C
Homes in Villars-les-Dombes sell for a median €2,722/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Villars-les-Dombes: €2,817/m² for houses, €2,679/m² for apartments. The estimated advertised rent is €13.04/m² a month, about level with compared French towns (€12.41/m²) and above Ain’s towns (€12.27/m²). Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 152 homes in the town.
€2,722/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Villars-les-Dombes€2,722/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ain median€2,641/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,817/m²
99
Apartments
€2,679/m²
53
€13.04/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.19 to €16.68/m² a month)
6.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€13.71/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€28,250
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes de la Dombes
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
2 historic monuments in Villars-les-Dombes, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Villars-les-Dombes is Motte féodale dite Poype de Villars. Its heritage reaches back to the 12th century. 7.2% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than Ain’s towns (7.9%) and near compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Adjusted for age and care homes, Villars-les-Dombes sees fewer deaths than 59% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (145 places) count their residents as Villars-les-Dombes’; allowing for them, deaths were 15% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 602 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 648, 8% more. The nearest emergency department to Villars-les-Dombes is Polyclinique Lyon Nord, 14.4 mi away. This Ain town has 10 family doctors.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Villars-les-Dombes · 2.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Lyon Nord
15.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive D Amberieu
85.9 · 82
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ain, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
An older town: 24% of people in Villars-les-Dombes are 65 or over, more than in both Ain’s towns and compared French towns
Under-15s account for 18% of the population. The 15-to-24 age group: 10%, in line with Ain’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Villars-les-Dombes has a median age of 42.5 years.
42.5median age
Villars-les-DombesAin medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
24%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Villars-les-Dombes
Is Villars-les-Dombes safe?
It grades C for safety, #43 of 53 in Ain. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 37 burglaries and 30 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Villars-les-Dombes good?
They grade A, better than 93% of compared French towns and #1 of 54 in Ain. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Villars-les-Dombes expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Villars-les-Dombes grades C for cost of living.
About Villars-les-Dombes
Commune in Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Villars-les-Dombes is a commune of 5,163 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
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.
