Is Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule a good place to live?
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Its weakest is schools (D) — bac results 3 points below the expected rate; brevet results 2 points below the expected rate. Housing is within reach (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall, better than 36% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #15 of 19 in Allier. Safety lags (D): an average of 15.6 recorded violent incidents and 17.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for health, B− for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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.
Each subject compares Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 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.
Chapelle de Briailles: Photo: Shadrack222 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule.
Schools
79.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 2 points below the expected rate
91%passed the bac (general and technological)DSchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For exam results, it comes #18 of 21 in Allier. Near Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, 91.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Allier’s towns (90.8%) and below compared French towns (92.9%).
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A
The median sale price of homes in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is €1,261/m²
€1,261/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.45/m² a month, about level with Allier’s towns (€9.45/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses made up 86% of the homes sold; apartments the rest. 156 houses and apartments changed hands in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule from July 2023 to June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule€1,261/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,383/m²
134
€9.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.54 to €11.84/m² a month)
3.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.96/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,560
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Saint-Pourçain Sioule Limagne
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule records more crime per resident than 87% of compared French towns
15.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule has 3,750 jobs for 1,850 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. 148 offenses were reported in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule during 2025. Also worth knowing: among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage63
Family violence22
Burglary22
Other physical violence21
Sexual violence20
Theft without violence40
Fraud29
Drug use18
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.
15.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
148
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.9%
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 armed robbery, 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, 1.9% of the index here. 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. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule than in Allier’s towns or across compared French towns: 19% of adults
50.6median age
Those 65 and older account for 31% of residents. Children under 15 make up 14%, near Allier’s towns (14%) and lower than compared French towns (17%). People aged 15 to 24 are a tenth of the population.
Saint-Pourçain-sur-SiouleAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
31%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma28%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 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
History
Old homes shape Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule: 16% were built before 1919, more than in Allier’s towns or compared French towns
4historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is Église Sainte-Croix. The town has 4 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 3 inscrit, the second level. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule has lower unemployment than Allier’s towns or compared French towns: 9.2%
12%walk, cycle or take transit
Half of residents lived on more than €23,590 a year per consumption unit, about level with Allier’s towns (€23,590) and below compared French towns (€25,970). 4.0% of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot8%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,750
jobs based in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, 2 per working resident
9.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,590
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 57% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Fewer deaths than expected: Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is below 51% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy, 14.3 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 948 residents of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule died, against 813 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 17% more. Its care home for older people (243 places) counts its residents as Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule’s; allowing for it, deaths were 13% below expected. Life expectancy at birth in Allier is 84.8 years for women and 78.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw117
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule · 4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy
14.4 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
Blaise de Vigenère: Thomas de Leu, Public domain · Bernard Coulon: Meupeumeu, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is a commune of 4,884 people in the Communauté de communes Saint-Pourçain Sioule Limagne. 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
4,884 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Saint-Pourçain Sioule Limagne
Département
Allier (03)
Région
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Area
13.8 sq mi (35.7 km²)
INSEE code
03254
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule’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 Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
Is Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule safe?
It grades D for safety, #17 of 19 in Allier. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 63 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule good?
They grade D, better than 9% of compared French towns and #18 of 21 in Allier. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 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.
