Villers-Cotterêts grades low on several counts. Incomes are on the low side: 1.2 jobs per working resident; 16.5% unemployment. Its overall grade of D puts it better than just over a tenth of compared French towns, #20 of 23 in Aisne. Health is a weak point (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 1% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying 70 m² at the median €1,976/m² takes 5.5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Retz-en-Valois. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 60% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 22% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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 Villers-Cotterêts 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.
Château de Villers-Cotterêts · Classé · Photo: FRANQUELIN · CC BY-SA 3.0
Villers-Cotterêts’ story
Villers-Cotterêts in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Villers-Cotterêts: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level).
That’s 13 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 90% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5.
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1927.
Wikidata records 6 people born in Villers-Cotterêts before 1900, the earliest Charles-Albert Demoustier, in 1760.
1927First protected: Château de Noue
2022Most recently protected: Maison forestière de la Pépinière
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Villers-Cotterêts: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level).
Ancien logis abbatial des Prémontrés, actuel Hôtel de Ville: Photo: Benjism89 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Villers-Cotterêts.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Villers-Cotterêts than in Aisne or compared French towns: 13 per 10,000 residents
14historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Villers-Cotterêts is Château de Villers-Cotterêts. The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in the town: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income D
The median disposable income in Villers-Cotterêts is €22,720 a year per consumption unit, against €20,680 in Aisne’s towns and €25,970 in compared French towns
22%walk, cycle or take transit
Unemployment stood at 16.5%, below Aisne’s towns (20.3%) but above compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, a tenth of working residents in Villers-Cotterêts went to work by public transport.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
Public transport10%
On foot9%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter0%
4,800
jobs based in Villers-Cotterêts, 1.2 per working resident
16.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,720
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 85% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Villers-Cotterêts run higher than in 77% of compared French towns
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,098 residents of Villers-Cotterêts died, against 914 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 20% more. After the care-home adjustment, Villers-Cotterêts’ deaths ran at 99 per 100 expected, below Aisne’s towns (110) but above compared French towns (88). Also worth knowing: the nearest emergency department to Villers-Cotterêts is Ch Soissons, 13.8 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of Villers-Cotterêts can choose among 8 GPs.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw120
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Villers-Cotterêts · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Soissons
13.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Soissons
83.2 · 77.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Aisne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
80.3% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 6.4 points below the expected rate
97%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Villers-Cotterêts, 97.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, higher than both Aisne’s towns (90.1%) and compared French towns (92.9%). On results, collèges and lycées here come #21 of 24 in Aisne.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Villers-Cotterêts is higher than in 68% of compared French towns
9.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
2025 saw 310 offenses recorded in Villers-Cotterêts. Violence against people averaged 9.6 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 16.2. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in the town.
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage106
Family violence53
Other physical violence49
Burglary29
Theft from vehicles28
Vehicle theft25
Sexual violence20
Fraud490
Drug use85
Theft without violence73
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.
9.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
310
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Villers-Cotterêts has fewer older residents than Aisne’s towns or compared French towns: 19% are 65 or over
41.5median age
Under 15: 19% of residents. 12% of the population is aged 15 to 24, near Aisne’s towns (12%) and higher than compared French towns (11%). Villers-Cotterêts has a median age of 41.5 years.
Villers-CotterêtsAisne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma32%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Aisne median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C+
The median home in Villers-Cotterêts sells for €1,976/m², against €1,167/m² in Aisne’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
€1,976/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
No town in Aisne costs more to buy into than Villers-Cotterêts, at €1,976/m², the highest of 24. A house in Villers-Cotterêts goes for €2,071/m², an apartment for €1,788/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €12.26/m² a month, higher than Aisne’s towns (€10.23/m²) and near compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Villers-Cotterêts€1,976/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Aisne median€1,167/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,071/m²
167
Apartments
€1,788/m²
77
€12.26/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.12 to €14.87/m² a month)
5.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.15/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,030
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Retz-en-Valois
Alexandre Dumas: Nadar, Public domain · Marie Joséphine Nicolas: Marie Joséphine Nicolas, Public domain · Charles-Albert Demoustier: Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier, Public domain · Yaniss China: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Louis Ringuier: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · Pierre Bertrand: Agence Rol, Public domain
About Villers-Cotterêts
Commune in Aisne, Hauts-de-France
Villers-Cotterêts is a commune of 10,489 people in the Communauté de communes Retz-en-Valois. 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
10,489 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Retz-en-Valois
Département
Aisne (02)
Région
Hauts-de-France
Area
16.3 sq mi (42.2 km²)
INSEE code
02810
Villers-Cotterêts’ 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 Villers-Cotterêts
Is Villers-Cotterêts safe?
It grades C for safety, #8 of 23 in Aisne. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 29 burglaries and 106 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Villers-Cotterêts good?
They grade C−, better than 25% of compared French towns and #21 of 24 in Aisne. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Villers-Cotterêts expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Villers-Cotterêts grades C+ for cost of living.
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.
