What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 97% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 33% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Moulins grades B+ overall, better than 69% of compared French towns, and ranks #7 of 19 in Allier. Add cost of living to its strengths (A−) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The trade-off is safety — an average of 11.6 recorded violent incidents and 17.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jobs & income is weaker too — 1.8 jobs per working resident; 16.3% unemployment.
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 Moulins 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 Moulins.
History
Moulins has 54 historic monuments, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 14th century. Since 2013, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. Moulins has 28 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Allier’s towns (4.9) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments here is Ancien château ou Palais des ducs de Bourbon.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
A walkable place: Moulins beats 96% of compared French towns on foot
The median disposable income was €22,050 a year per consumption unit, below both Allier’s towns (€23,590) and compared French towns (€25,970). Unemployment runs at 16.3%. At the census, 6.2% of working residents in Moulins went to work by public transport.
33%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving61%
On foot21%
Public transport6%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter2%
13,250
jobs based in Moulins, 1.8 per working resident
16.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,050
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Renting in Moulins costs an estimated advertised €9.97/m² a month, against €9.45/m² in Allier’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
714 sales of houses and apartments in Moulins, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,320/m². In Moulins, houses go for €1,482/m² and apartments for €1,250/m². House rents are put at about €8.22/m² a month.
€1,320/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Moulins€1,320/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,482/m²
272
Apartments
€1,250/m²
442
€9.97/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.94 to €12.50/m² a month)
3.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.22/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,090
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Moulins Communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Moulins sees more crime per resident than 78% of compared French towns
2025 saw 543 offenses recorded in Moulins. With 13,250 jobs for 7,200 working residents, Moulins draws people in from neighbouring communes. More of the graded crimes locally were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
11.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage239
Other physical violence116
Family violence80
Sexual violence47
Burglary40
Theft from vehicles21
Theft without violence157
Drug use145
Fraud100
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.
11.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
543
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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 · When armed robbery and vehicle theft number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.2% 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.
HealthHealth B+
Moulins loses fewer people than its age profile suggests, 79 per 100 expected, below Allier’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 2,641 residents of Moulins died, against 2,708 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% fewer. In Allier, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.8 years for women and 78.6 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 29 GPs practise locally.
−21%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw98
Adjusted79
Median town88
Expected100
29
GPs in Moulins · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Moulins
0.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Moulins
84.8 · 78.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Allier, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Students and young workers shape Moulins: 14% are 15 to 24, above Allier’s towns and compared French towns
26% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 25% of the town, below Allier’s towns (30%) but above compared French towns (22%). Moulins has a median age of 43.9.
43.9median age
MoulinsAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
14%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education26%
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 81 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Allier median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
89.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the five collèges within 5 km, 1.1 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Ranked by results, schools here are #4 of 21 in Allier. Near Moulins, 92.7% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with compared French towns (92.9%) and above Allier’s towns (90.8%). At the two general lycées, 95% of 472 candidates passed the bac, a point below the expected rate.
95%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Ancien château ou Palais des ducs de Bourbon: Photo: Szeder László · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Saint-Pierre: Photo: Modillons58 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison du Doyenné: Photo: Isaline1991 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tour de l'Horloge dite Jacquemart: Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Antoine Meillet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jacques Fitz-James: Circle of Godfrey Kneller, Public domain · Charles II de Bourbon: Jean Hey, Public domain · Louis III de Bourbon: School of François Clouet, Public domain · Stéphane Risacher: (:Julien:), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert Poujade: inra.dist, CC BY 2.0
Moulins’ 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 Moulins
Is Moulins safe?
It grades C− for safety, #16 of 19 in Allier. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 40 burglaries and 239 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Moulins good?
They grade B−, better than 52% of compared French towns and #4 of 21 in Allier. 97% of 316 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général Théodore de Banville in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Moulins expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,320/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Moulins grades A− for cost of living.
About Moulins
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Moulins is a commune of 19,206 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Moulins 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.
