Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has a population of 2,959.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Its strongest is safety — an average of 2.9 recorded violent incidents and 7.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. School results trail most towns (D−): brevet results 15 points below the expected rate. The overall grade lands at A−, #6 of 19 in Allier. Nationally, it does better than just over four fifths of compared French towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for health, B− for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Dompierre-sur-Besbre does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Dompierre-sur-Besbre 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Dompierre-sur-Besbre has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 16th century; the first monument here was protected in 1990.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Other places to visit, heritage and family days out in and near Dompierre-sur-Besbre. Best known first.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dompierre-sur-Besbre.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For exam results, it comes #21 of 21 in Allier.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Louis PergaudNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 91 | 75%−15 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Among the graded crimes in Dompierre-sur-Besbre, the most frequent was burglary (2025). The 2025 count: 20 offenses here. The town ranks first of the 19 compared towns in Allier on the Safety Grade. It has 1,700 jobs for 1,050 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 18.3% of the index here. With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €1,122/m², below Allier’s towns (€1,320/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Dompierre-sur-Besbre recorded 78 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,122/m² | 78 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Among adults, 16% have a degree. Children under 15 make up 13%, below both Allier’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (17%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.9% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre | Allier median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 14% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 9.3% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 19% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 34% | 30% | 22% |
| No diploma | 31% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 31% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 16% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Allier median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 16th century. Dompierre-sur-Besbre has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
The unemployment rate comes to 10.0%. Half of residents lived on more than €24,090 a year per consumption unit, about level with Allier’s towns (€23,590) and below compared French towns (€25,970). Bus, tram or train carried 2.6% of working residents in Dompierre-sur-Besbre to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
495 deaths in Dompierre-sur-Besbre between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 487: 2% above. Its care home for older people (82 places) counts its residents as Dompierre-sur-Besbre’s; allowing for it, deaths were 12% below expected. The town has 3 family doctors. Average lifespans in Allier: 84.8 years for women, 78.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · Note: TownRatings models the care-home adjustment; it is not an official figure.
Dompierre-sur-Besbre has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
2 notable people were born in Dompierre-sur-Besbre.
François Colcombet: JoCo1994, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre | 2,959 | — | A− | A+ | A+ | B− |
| Bourbon-Lancy Saône-et-Loire | 4,674 | 8.1 | A+ | A+ | A | B |
| Digoin Saône-et-Loire | 7,353 | 15 | B+ | A+ | C | B− |
| Yzeure | 12,897 | 16 | A | A− | B | B+ |
| Moulins | 19,206 | 17 | B+ | A− | C− | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A+ for safety, #1 of 19 in Allier. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 6 acts of criminal damage.
They grade D−, better than 1% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Dompierre-sur-Besbre grades A+ for cost of living.
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Dompierre-sur-Besbre is a commune of 2,959 people in the Communauté de communes Entr'Allier Besbre et Loire. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 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.