Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. Overall, Saint-Germain-des-Fossés earns a B+, better than just over two thirds of compared French towns. It ranks #8 of 19 in Allier. Homes are affordable (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Safety is another plus — an average of 6 recorded violent incidents and 9.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Work and incomes lag: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 10.3% unemployment.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment, INSEE census 2023.
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 Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 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.
Église Notre-Dame · Classé · Photo: Patrick Boyer · CC BY-SA 3.0
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés’ story
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1969.
Georges Marchand, born in 1881, is the one person born in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés before 1900 that Wikidata records.
Église Notre-Dame: Photo: Patrick Boyer · CC BY-SA 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés.
HousingCost of living A
Buying in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés costs less than in both Allier’s towns and compared French towns: the median sale is €1,211/m²
€1,211/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.57/m² a month, about level with Allier’s towns (€9.45/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses made up 89% of the homes sold; apartments the rest. Saint-Germain-des-Fossés recorded 117 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés€1,211/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,250/m²
104
€9.57/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.70 to €11.90/m² a month)
3.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.80/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,890
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Vichy Communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés sees less crime per resident than 81% of compared French towns
6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés’s tally for 2025: 45 recorded offenses. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage19
Other physical violence12
Family violence7
Burglary7
Armed robbery0
Fraud29
Drug use13
Theft without violence12
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.
6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
45
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
5.7%
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 · For sexual violence, 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, 5.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Germain-des-Fossés sees more deaths than 69% of compared French towns
−5%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 498 residents of Saint-Germain-des-Fossés died, against 434 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 15% more. After the care-home adjustment, Saint-Germain-des-Fossés’ deaths ran at 95 per 100 expected, above Allier’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88) alike. Life expectancy in Allier: 84.8 years for women and 78.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw115
Adjusted95
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés · 2.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy
5.6 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
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés is Église Notre-Dame. Its heritage reaches back to the 12th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 9.2% of the total, near Allier’s towns (9.2%) and higher than compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
For jobs & income, Saint-Germain-des-Fossés gets a C−
11%walk, cycle or take transit
Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €23,240 a year. The census found 10.8% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. A tenth of people in the labour force have no job.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
Public transport5%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle1%
1,100
jobs based in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés, 0.7 per working resident
10.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,240
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 60% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés than in Allier’s towns or across compared French towns: 19% of adults
45.9median age
People 65 and over make up 25% of the town. 16% are under 15, above Allier’s towns (14%) but below compared French towns (17%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 11%.
Saint-Germain-des-FossésAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés is a commune of 3,579 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Vichy 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
3,579 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Vichy Communauté
Département
Allier (03)
Région
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Area
3.1 sq mi (8 km²)
INSEE code
03236
Saint-Germain-des-Fossés’ 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 Saint-Germain-des-Fossés
Is Saint-Germain-des-Fossés safe?
It grades A− for safety, #6 of 19 in Allier. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 7 burglaries and 19 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés good?
They grade C, better than 34% of compared French towns and #7 of 21 in Allier. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Germain-des-Fossés expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Germain-des-Fossés grades A for cost of living.
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.
