Montluçon grades C overall: better than 26% of compared French towns, and #17 of 19 in Allier. Its weakest subject is schools (D): bac results 3.8 points below the expected rate; brevet results 7.6 points below the expected rate. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.4 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 Montluçon 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 Montluçon.
HousingCost of living A
A home in Montluçon sells for €833/m², less than in Allier’s towns or compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Montluçon below both Allier’s towns (€1,320/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Montluçon is the cheapest of the 21 towns in Allier: its median sale is €833/m². In Montluçon, houses go for €1,091/m² and apartments for €651/m².
€833/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Montluçon€833/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,091/m²
798
Apartments
€651/m²
858
€8.86/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.95 to €11.30/m² a month)
2.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.27/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,050
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Montluçon Communauté
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Montluçon has higher unemployment than Allier’s towns or compared French towns: 18.5%
In the comparison, Montluçon comes above both Allier’s towns (12.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Montluçon has 18,450 jobs for 11,650 working residents, 1.6 per worker. The median disposable income is €21,980 a year per consumption unit.
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving69%
On foot10%
Bicycle4%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter2%
18,450
jobs based in Montluçon, 1.6 per working resident
18.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,980
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
12%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Montluçon records more crime per resident than 89% of compared French towns
Montluçon ranks last of the 19 compared towns in Allier on the Safety Grade. Police and gendarmerie recorded 1,061 offenses in the graded categories in Montluçon in 2025. For armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here.
11.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage445
Other physical violence181
Family violence130
Burglary128
Sexual violence74
Theft from vehicles66
Vehicle theft37
Drug use531
Theft without violence287
Fraud271
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.
11.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,061
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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
23 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1990
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Montluçon: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 19 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1990.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Montluçon skews young, with 14% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Allier’s towns or compared French towns
For Montluçon, that is above both Allier’s towns (9.3%) and compared French towns (11%). Over-65s are 28% of the population.
46.9median age
MontluçonAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma25%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education22%
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
HealthHealth C
Montluçon sees 94 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Allier’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Montluçon sits above both Allier’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. From 2016 to 2025, 4,900 residents of Montluçon died, against 4,825 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−6%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted94
Median town88
Expected100
28
GPs in Montluçon · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Montlucon
0.6 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
Église Saint-Pierre: Photo: Grazyna Dyrka · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Morburre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison Alexandre: Photo: User:Otourly · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne maison du doyenné: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0
Alphonse Georges: War Office official photographer : Puttnam L A (Lt) : Davies (Lt), Public domain · Sébastien Roudet: Liondartois, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raoul Dautry: Photographie de presse de l'agence Meurisse, Public domain · Jules Cluzel: Mark from Coventry, West Midlands, CC BY 2.0 · Marx Dormoy: Agence de presse Mondial Photo-Presse, Public domain · Gabrielle Robinne: Jean Reutlinger, Public domain
Montluçon’s 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 Montluçon
Is Montluçon safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 128 burglaries and 445 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Montluçon good?
They grade D, better than 9% of compared French towns and #16 of 21 in Allier. 96% of 273 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général Madame de Staël in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Montluçon expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €8.86/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Montluçon grades A for cost of living.
About Montluçon
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Montluçon is a commune of 33,147 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Montluçon 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
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.
