RN 7 au nord de Moulins côté Paris (juillet 2025)

Avermes, #1 on this list · Photo: Florian Pépellin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Allier · 2026

Best places to live in Allier

Avermes ranks first of 19 ranked towns of 2,500 or more in Allier, and #69 of 3,798 French towns. 6 of the 19 grade A− or better; scores run from 75.1 down to 37.4.

The overall score, sorted within the département; the letter compares each town with every French town of 2,500+, and its rank among French towns sits beside it. How grades work

Avermes

4,074 people

A⁺

Score 75.1·#69 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A, health A·lowest: schools B⁻

Saint-Yorre

2,641 people

A⁺

Score 71.5·#152 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A, schools A·lowest: health C

Lapalisse

3,138 people

A⁺

Score 70.8·#179 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: schools A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: jobs & income C

All 19 towns, ranked

By overall score against French towns; ranks are within the département, and each French rank links to the national list.

Every town in Allier →

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19 towns

#TownScoreGrade · French rankWhat drives it

1Avermes4,074 people75.1top 1.8%A⁺#69 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, health A·lowest: schools B⁻

2Saint-Yorre2,641 people71.5top 4.0%A⁺#152 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, schools A·lowest: health C

3Lapalisse3,138 people70.8top 4.7%A⁺#179 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, cost of living A·lowest: jobs & income C

4Yzeure12,897 people65.1top 11.4%A#434 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A⁻, walkability A⁻·lowest: schools B⁻

5Creuzier-le-Vieux3,205 people63.9top 13.3%A#506 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, jobs & income A·lowest: schools C⁻

6Dompierre-sur-Besbre2,959 people61.5top 17.8%A⁻#676 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, cost of living A⁺·lowest: schools D⁻

7Moulins19,206 people55.7top 30.7%B⁺#1,167 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, cost of living A⁻·lowest: jobs & income C⁻

8Saint-Germain-des-Fossés3,579 people55.1top 31.8%B⁺#1,208 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, safety A⁻·lowest: jobs & income C⁻

9Commentry6,017 people55.1top 31.9%B⁺#1,212 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, schools B⁺·lowest: health D

10Abrest2,915 people54.9top 32.4%B⁺#1,233 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A⁻, safety A⁻·lowest: schools C⁻

11Domérat8,622 people53.3top 37.1%B#1,409 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, safety A·lowest: schools D⁻

12Désertines4,259 people51.4top 42.9%B#1,631 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A⁻, safety A⁻·lowest: schools D

13Gannat5,610 people50.5top 45.3%B⁻#1,719 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A⁻·lowest: jobs & income C

14Cusset13,316 people45.1bottom 39.6%C⁺#2,295 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, cost of living B⁺·lowest: jobs & income C⁻

15Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule4,884 people43.7bottom 36.1%C⁺#2,426 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability B·lowest: schools D

16Bellerive-sur-Allier8,943 people42.1bottom 32.4%C#2,569 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, health B·lowest: schools C⁻

17Montluçon33,147 people39.7bottom 26.1%C#2,808 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A·lowest: schools D

18Vichy25,115 people38.7bottom 23.6%C⁻#2,901 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, cost of living B·lowest: safety D

19Varennes-sur-Allier3,549 people37.4bottom 21.0%C⁻#3,000 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability B⁺·lowest: schools D

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Allier?

Avermes ranks first of 19 graded towns of 2,500 or more: safety (A) and health (A) are its strongest grades; schools (B−) is its lowest. Saint-Yorre and Lapalisse follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs and income, walkability) from public data, each comparing a town with every French town of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in Allier, where five or more have an overall grade.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every commune is listed on the Allier page.

Photos: Avermes, Florian Pépellin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Saint-Yorre, Tabl-trai (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Lapalisse, Krzysztof Golik (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, run #70 of November 9, 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.