Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon, #1 on this list · Photo: 0ups (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Ardèche · 2026

Best places to live in Ardèche

Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon ranks first of 16 ranked towns of 2,500 or more in Ardèche, and #523 of 3,798 French towns. 5 of the 16 grade A− or better; scores run from 63.6 down to 35.6.

The overall score, sorted within the département; the letter compares each town with every French town of 2,500+, and its rank among French towns sits beside it. How grades work

Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon

2,920 people

Score 63.6·#523 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A, schools A⁻·lowest: walkability C

Davézieux

3,205 people

A⁻

Score 62.5·#600 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: jobs & income A, safety A⁻·lowest: cost of living C

Saint-Péray

7,580 people

A⁻

Score 61.2·#689 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A⁻, health A⁻·lowest: cost of living C⁺

All 16 towns, ranked

By overall score against French towns; ranks are within the département, and each French rank links to the national list.

Every town in Ardèche →

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16 towns

#TownScoreGrade · French rankWhat drives it

1Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon2,920 people63.6top 13.8%A#523 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, schools A⁻·lowest: walkability C

2Davézieux3,205 people62.5top 15.8%A⁻#600 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, safety A⁻·lowest: cost of living C

3Saint-Péray7,580 people61.2top 18.1%A⁻#689 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁻, health A⁻·lowest: cost of living C⁺

4Vals-les-Bains3,474 people59.9top 20.7%A⁻#788 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health B⁺, safety B⁺·lowest: jobs & income D

5Guilherand-Granges11,235 people58.6top 23.7%A⁻#900 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: schools C

6Annonay17,274 people55.5top 31.0%B⁺#1,177 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A⁻·lowest: safety C⁻

7Aubenas12,416 people54.6top 33.3%B⁺#1,267 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: health A⁻, schools A⁻·lowest: safety D

8Tournon-sur-Rhône11,279 people51.7top 41.9%B#1,592 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, schools B⁺·lowest: safety C

9Privas8,538 people49.2top 48.7%B⁻#1,851 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A⁻·lowest: safety C

10Bourg-Saint-Andéol7,661 people48.0bottom 47.7%B⁻#1,988 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B⁺, walkability B⁺·lowest: jobs & income D

11Villeneuve-de-Berg3,031 people43.1bottom 34.7%C#2,482 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B⁺, safety B⁺·lowest: schools D⁻

12La Voulte-sur-Rhône4,854 people41.1bottom 30.0%C#2,658 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, cost of living B⁺·lowest: jobs & income D

13Le Pouzin2,886 people40.6bottom 28.6%C#2,713 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, health B⁻·lowest: jobs & income C

14Les Vans2,662 people39.9bottom 26.7%C#2,783 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, health B·lowest: jobs & income C⁻

15Le Teil8,726 people36.4bottom 18.9%C⁻#3,082 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B⁺, walkability B·lowest: jobs & income D

16Viviers3,633 people35.6bottom 17.0%C⁻#3,153 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living B⁺, safety C⁺·lowest: jobs & income D

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Ardèche?

Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon ranks first of 16 graded towns of 2,500 or more: safety (A) and schools (A−) are its strongest grades; walkability (C) is its lowest. Davézieux and Saint-Péray follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs and income, walkability) from public data, each comparing a town with every French town of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in Ardèche, where five or more have an overall grade.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every commune is listed on the Ardèche page.

Photos: Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon, 0ups (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Davézieux, François Bassaget (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Saint-Péray, Yzergues (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, run #70 of November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).

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.