Commentry grades B+ overall: better than 68% of compared French towns, and #9 of 19 in Allier. Its weakest subject is health (D): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 9% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
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 Commentry 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 Commentry.
HealthHealth D
More deaths than Commentry’s ages would predict, 109 per 100 expected, above Allier’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In the comparison, Commentry comes above both Allier’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,020 residents of Commentry died, against 856 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 19% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
+9%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw119
Adjusted109
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Commentry · 2.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Montlucon
7.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Montlucon
84.8 · 78.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Allier, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Homes in Commentry cost less than in Allier’s towns or across compared French towns, with a median sale of €879/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
For Commentry, that is below both Allier’s towns (€1,320/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Only one of the 21 towns in Allier costs less to buy into than Commentry, whose median sale is €879/m².
€879/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Commentry€879/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€945/m²
173
€9.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.35 to €12.15/m² a month)
2.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.22/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,140
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Commentry Montmarault Néris Communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Commentry than in Allier’s towns or across compared French towns: 13% of adults
Commentry sits below both Allier’s towns (22%) and compared French towns (30%) on this measure. People 65 and over make up 33% of the town.
53.8median age
CommentryAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP36%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education13%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Allier median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
92.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 10 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Commentry, 86.0% passed the bac, below both Allier’s towns (90.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Schools rank #3 of 21 in Allier.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Commentry has less crime per resident than 63% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 129 offenses in the graded categories in Commentry in 2025. For vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 1.7% of the index here. With 2,450 jobs for 1,950 working residents, Commentry draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
5.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearBSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage65
Other physical violence21
Burglary16
Family violence14
Sexual violence13
Armed robbery0
Fraud27
Theft without violence25
Drug use17
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.
5.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
129
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.7%
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
History
Old homes shape Commentry: 13% were built before 1919, more than in Allier’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
That puts Commentry above both Allier’s towns (9.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%). The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Commentry, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Commentry, 15.6%, runs above Allier’s towns and compared French towns
On this, Commentry is above both Allier’s towns (12.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €22,570 a year per consumption unit.
11%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot8%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
2,450
jobs based in Commentry, 1.2 per working resident
15.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,570
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 58% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Commentry
Is Commentry safe?
It grades B for safety, #10 of 19 in Allier. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 16 burglaries and 65 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Commentry good?
They grade B+, better than 75% of compared French towns and #3 of 21 in Allier. 93% of 28 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Geneviève Vincent in 2025 given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Commentry expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €9.45/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Commentry grades A for cost of living.
About Commentry
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Commentry is a commune of 6,017 people in the Communauté de communes Commentry Montmarault Néris Communauté. 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
6,017 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Commentry Montmarault Néris Communauté
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.
