Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,151 in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Désaignes has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is health (C): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its strongest is cost of living (B+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 3 things Désaignes does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Désaignes 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
On the Culture ministry’s list, Désaignes counts 2 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 1 inscrit at the second.
34% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Rémy Chazallon, born in 1802, is the one person born in Désaignes before 1900 that Wikidata records.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Désaignes.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted mortality in Désaignes: 97 deaths for every 100 expected. 113 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 116: 3% below. In Ardèche, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.9 years for women and 79.7 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to B.
29% of residents have reached 65. Ages in Désaignes split evenly at 52: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 27% of adults, between Ardèche’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (30%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
| Désaignes | Ardèche median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.4% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 29% | 27% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 27% | 25% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ardèche median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,596/m², comes from 36 sales of houses and apartments in Désaignes from July 2023 to June 2026. Among the homes sold, 97% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,581/m² | 35 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Half of residents lived on more than €22,270 a year per consumption unit, near Ardèche’s towns (€22,735) and lower than compared French towns (€25,970). 300 jobs are based in Désaignes, for 500 working residents (0.6 per worker). Also worth knowing: at the census, 8.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Désaignes counts 2 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 1 inscrit at the second.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Other places to visit, heritage and museums in and near Désaignes. Best known first.
The list names few of Désaignes’ 2 monuments; beside them, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Porte du Bourg de l'Homme (porte de Lalle): Photo: Roberto Petrone · CC BY-SA 4.0
One notable person was born in Désaignes.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Désaignes | 1,151 | — | — | B+ | — | C |
| Le Cheylard | 2,803 | 7.4 | — | A | — | C+ |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon Haute-Loire | 2,501 | 11 | — | A− | — | B |
| Tence Haute-Loire | 3,111 | 14 | — | A | — | C |
| Saint-Péray | 7,580 | 16 | A− | C+ | A− | A− |
| Tournon-sur-Rhône | 11,279 | 16 | B | B | C | C+ |
| La Roche-de-Glun Drôme | 3,569 | 16 | A | C | A+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Désaignes has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.6 recorded violent incidents and 5.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,596/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Désaignes grades B+ for cost of living.
Commune in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Désaignes is a commune of 1,151 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Lamastre. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 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.