Vichy grades C− overall: better than 24% of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 12.1 recorded violent incidents and 21 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,796/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Vichy Communauté. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 35% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Vichy 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 Vichy.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
More people in Vichy are out of work than in Allier’s towns or across compared French towns: 18.4%
That puts Vichy above both Allier’s towns (12.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Vichy has 12,750 jobs for 7,800 working residents, 1.6 per worker. The median disposable income is €23,100 a year per consumption unit.
35%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving59%
On foot21%
Public transport10%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
12,750
jobs based in Vichy, 1.6 per working resident
18.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,100
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 98% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
51 historic monuments, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 51 historic monuments in Vichy: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 47 inscrit (the second level). Vichy has 20 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Allier’s towns (4.9) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1997.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Children make up only 9.7% of Vichy, fewer than in Allier’s towns and compared French towns
On this, Vichy is below both Allier’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (17%). People 65 and over make up 37% of the town.
53.1median age
VichyAllier medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP21%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 77 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
Safety
Crime per resident in Vichy runs higher than in 88% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 799 offenses in the graded categories in Vichy in 2025. Vichy comes 18th of the 19 compared towns in Allier on the Safety Grade. 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.
12.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage328
Family violence126
Other physical violence121
Burglary92
Sexual violence65
Theft from vehicles46
Vehicle theft21
Theft without violence422
Drug use220
Fraud215
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.
12.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
799
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
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B
Homes in Vichy sell for €1,796/m² at the median, against €1,320/m² in Allier’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Vichy, houses go for €1,868/m² and apartments for €1,778/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.45/m² a month, above Allier’s towns (€9.45/m²) but below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,796/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Vichy€1,796/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Allier median€1,320/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,868/m²
435
Apartments
€1,778/m²
1,559
€10.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.97 to €13.71/m² a month)
5.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.86/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
HealthHealth B−
Vichy’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 53% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 4,208 residents of Vichy died, against 4,418 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% fewer. Its five care homes for older people (362 places) count their residents as Vichy’s; allowing for them, deaths were 11% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw95
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
28
GPs in Vichy · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Jacques Lacarin Vichy
0.7 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
Borne milliaire dans l'établissement thermal: Photo: Romainbehar · CC0 · Parc des Sources: Photo: Tabl-trai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Théâtre et grand Casino: Photo: Tabl-trai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancien couvent des Célestins: Photo: Tabl-trai · CC BY-SA 4.0
Just Jaeckin: Tisourcier, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Magda Julin: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Maurice Germot: Agence Rol, Public domain · Guy Ligier: Alain Mingam, Public domain · Albert Londres: Unknown 1923, Public domain · Bertrand Laquait: Yannick Bouvard, CC BY-SA 3.0
Vichy’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 Vichy
Is Vichy safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 92 burglaries and 328 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Vichy good?
They grade C−, better than 18% of compared French towns and #10 of 21 in Allier. 95% of 460 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Albert Londres in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Vichy expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Vichy grades B for cost of living.
About Vichy
Commune in Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Vichy is a commune of 25,115 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
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.
