Jobs & income is its weak spot — 0.6 jobs per working resident; 12.0% unemployment. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,160/m² takes 6.1 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Durance-Lubéron-Verdon Agglomération. Its strongest subject is safety — an average of 3.6 recorded violent incidents and 16.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Overall, that makes a C+, good for #7 of 15 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Nationally, it does better than 36% of compared French towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for health and B− for walkability.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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 Valensole 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 Valensole.
Who lives here
Few people in Valensole are 15 to 24: 8.1%, fewer than in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns and across compared French towns
27% of residents are 65 or over, close to Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns (27%) and above compared French towns (22%). Ages in Valensole split evenly at 49.7: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 31% of adults.
49.7median age
ValensoleAlpes-de-Haute-Provence medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma16%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Alpes-de-Haute-Provence median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C+
Median price in Valensole: €2,160/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The sales split: 86% houses, the rest apartments. 125 houses and apartments changed hands in Valensole from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses are advertised at an estimated €10.15/m² a month.
€2,160/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Valensole€2,160/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence median€2,550/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,248/m²
108
€11.75/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.18 to €15.03/m² a month)
6.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.15/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,890
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Durance-Lubéron-Verdon Agglomération
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Valensole: 21% were built before 1919, more than in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Valensole: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments locally is Fontaine publique en pierre dite Grande Fontaine. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 14th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Valensole has less crime per resident than 58% of compared French towns
In all, 57 offenses reached the police record in Valensole in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Valensole (2025).
3.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearBSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage30
Theft from vehicles17
Family violence5
Other physical violence5
Armed robbery0
Drug use21
Fraud18
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.
3.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
57
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
10.6%
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, burglary and vehicle theft, 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, 10.6% of the index here. That estimated share passes 10%, so treat this Safety Grade with more caution than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth B
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Valensole run lower than in 55% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Valensole is Centre hospitalier de Manosque Louis Raffalli, 8.2 mi away. 434 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 411: 6% above. Its care home for older people (84 places) counts its residents as Valensole’s; allowing for it, deaths were 14% below expected. Women in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence live to 85.8 on average and men to 79.7 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Valensole · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Manosque Louis Raffalli
7.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Manosque Louis Raffalli
85.8 · 79.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Valensole has higher unemployment than Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns or compared French towns: 12.0%
8.1% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Alpes-de-Haute-Provence’s towns (10.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Median disposable income is €24,070 a year for each consumption unit.
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot5%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
750
jobs based in Valensole, 0.6 per working resident
12.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,070
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 52% of compared French towns
Église paroissiale Saint-Blaise et vestiges de l'ancien prieuré Saint-Mayeul: Photo: Espirat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Domaine Le Clos de Villeneuve: Photo: MERLEJP · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Valensole’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 Valensole
Is Valensole safe?
It grades B for safety, #9 of 15 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Is Valensole expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.75/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Valensole grades C+ for cost of living.
About Valensole
Commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Valensole is a commune of 3,137 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Durance-Lubéron-Verdon Agglomération. 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.
