Aubenas grades B+ overall: better than 67% of compared French towns, and #7 of 16 in Ardèche. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 14 recorded violent incidents and 20.2 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 €1,716/m², a 70 m² home costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes du Bassin d'Aubenas. Its strongest is health (A−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 26% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
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 Aubenas 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 Aubenas.
Safety
Aubenas records more crime per resident than 89% of compared French towns
Aubenas ranks last of the 16 compared towns in Ardèche on the Safety Grade. Police and gendarmerie recorded 451 offenses in the graded categories in Aubenas in 2025. 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.
14recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage161
Other physical violence85
Family violence76
Sexual violence35
Theft from vehicles32
Burglary31
Vehicle theft31
Drug use181
Theft without violence105
Fraud62
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.
14
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
20.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
451
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
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Fewer deaths than Aubenas’ ages would predict, 74 per 100 expected, under Ardèche’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Aubenas sits below both Ardèche’s towns (90) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. From 2016 to 2025, 1,917 residents of Aubenas died, against 1,959 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−26%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw98
Adjusted74
Median town88
Expected100
9
GPs in Aubenas · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Ardeche Meridionale Aubenas
0.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Ardeche Meridionale Aubenas
85.9 · 79.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ardèche, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Aubenas, 18.2%, runs above Ardèche’s towns and compared French towns
On this, Aubenas is above both Ardèche’s towns (13.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Aubenas has 10,650 jobs for 4,400 working residents, 2.4 per worker. The median disposable income is €21,530 a year per consumption unit.
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving78%
On foot11%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
10,650
jobs based in Aubenas, 2.4 per working resident
18.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,530
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 83% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Aubenas keeps more of its old housing than Ardèche or compared French towns: 16% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
In the comparison, Aubenas comes above both Ardèche’s towns (13%) and compared French towns (7.4%). The Culture ministry lists 8 historic monuments in Aubenas: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 6 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Aubenas is Château dit château de Montlaur.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Children make up only 14% of Aubenas, fewer than in Ardèche’s towns and compared French towns
For Aubenas, that is below both Ardèche’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). 29% of residents are 65 or over.
47.9median age
AubenasArdèche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education26%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ardèche median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B
Aubenas gets a B for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,716/m², comes from 505 sales of houses and apartments in Aubenas from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Aubenas sell for €2,048/m² and apartments for €1,590/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.34/m² a month, close to Ardèche’s towns (€10.27/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,716/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Aubenas€1,716/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ardèche median€1,907/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,048/m²
199
Apartments
€1,590/m²
306
€10.34/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.02 to €13.31/m² a month)
5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.88/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,960
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Bassin d'Aubenas
Amandine Leynaud: los_bandito_anthony, CC BY 2.0 · Anthony Mounier: 34 super héros, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Marc Gounon: LoupDragon42, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Renaud Cohade: Liondartois, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cédric Barbosa: Yannick Bouvard, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rémy Martin: Par Archimb (Travail personnel) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 )], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Aubenas’ 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 Aubenas
Is Aubenas safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 31 burglaries and 161 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Aubenas good?
They grade A−, better than 83% of compared French towns and #1 of 21 in Ardèche. 97% of 210 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent privé Jules Froment in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Aubenas expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,716/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Aubenas grades B for cost of living.
About Aubenas
Commune in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Aubenas is a commune of 12,416 people in the Communauté de communes du Bassin d'Aubenas. 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.
