Lapalisse grades A+ overall: better than 95% of compared French towns, and #3 of 19 in Allier. At the median price of €985/m², a 70 m² home costs 3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Lapalisse. Its strongest is schools (A+): brevet results 6 points above the expected rate.
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 Lapalisse 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
HousingCost of living A
Renting in Lapalisse costs less than in both Allier’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.44/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €985/m²: 112 houses and apartments sold in Lapalisse between July 2023 and June 2026. A home here costs 3 years of the median income in Communauté de communes du Pays de Lapalisse. Among the homes sold, 84% were houses.
€985/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Lapalisse€985/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,106/m²
94
€8.44/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.73 to €10.59/m² a month)
3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.69/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,360
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Pays de Lapalisse
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Older residents shape Lapalisse: 36% are 65 or over, above Allier’s towns and compared French towns
14% of adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 13%, lower than both Allier’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 8.7% of the town.
54.7median age
LapalisseAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
36%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education14%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 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
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Lapalisse’s grade for jobs & income: a C
Half of residents lived on more than €22,960 a year per consumption unit, about level with Allier’s towns (€23,590) and below compared French towns (€25,970). 12.5% of people in the labour force have no job. At the census, 14.5% of commuters got to work without a car.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot10%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
2,000
jobs based in Lapalisse, 1.9 per working resident
12.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,960
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 69% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Less crime per resident in Lapalisse than in 66% of compared French towns
In 2025, 50 offenses were recorded in Lapalisse. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 10.4 cases of violence against people and 7.7 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). The town has 2,000 jobs for 1,100 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
10.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage19
Family violence16
Other physical violence10
Sexual violence5
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence25
Fraud21
Drug use11
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.
10.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
50
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
6.9%
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 burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 6.9% of the index here. 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.
History
2 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2006
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2006. On the Culture ministry’s list, Lapalisse counts 2 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 1 inscrit at the second. Among the classé monuments here is Château de La Palice (également sur commune de Saint-Prix).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Lapalisse run lower than in 52% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (236 places) counts its residents as Lapalisse’s; allowing for it, deaths were 13% below expected. 725 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 575: 26% above. At birth, a girl in Allier can expect 84.8 years and a boy 78.6 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 3 GPs practise here.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw126
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Lapalisse · 1.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy
13 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy
84.8 · 78.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Allier, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Lapalisse
Is Lapalisse safe?
It grades B+ for safety, #9 of 19 in Allier.
Are schools in Lapalisse good?
They grade A+, better than 96% of compared French towns and #1 of 21 in Allier. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Lapalisse expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €985/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Lapalisse grades A for cost of living.
About Lapalisse
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Lapalisse is a commune of 3,138 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Lapalisse. 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.
