Where it falls short is jobs & income — 1.6 jobs per working resident; 17.7% unemployment. Overall, Les Vans earns a C, which places it #14 of 16 in Ardèche. On that grade it does better than 27% of compared French towns. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,298/m² takes 7.2 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Pays des Vans en Cévennes. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 65% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for schools and B for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Les Vans 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 Les Vans.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Les Vans: 39% are 65 or over, above Ardèche’s towns and compared French towns
The 15-to-24 age group makes up 6.4% of residents. Children under 15 make up 12%, below both Ardèche’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). Ages in Les Vans split evenly at 58.6: half are older, half younger.
58.6median age
Les VansArdèche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
39%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education28%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% 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
History
Old homes shape Les Vans: 24% were built before 1919, more than in Ardèche’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Les Vans counts 19 protected monuments, above both Ardèche’s towns (4.8) and compared French towns (2.5). The Culture ministry lists 5 historic monuments locally, none of them classé, France’s highest protection. 4 of the 5 are churches, chapels and other religious buildings. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Les Vans, 17.7%, runs above Ardèche’s towns and compared French towns
At the census, 20.4% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Half of residents lived on more than €22,180 a year per consumption unit, close to Ardèche’s towns (€22,735) and below compared French towns (€25,970).
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving74%
On foot14%
Bicycle4%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,350
jobs based in Les Vans, 1.6 per working resident
17.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,180
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 73% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C
Homes in Les Vans sell for a median €2,298/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €2,588/m² in Les Vans, apartments for €1,999/m². The estimated advertised rent is €10.51/m² a month, close to Ardèche’s towns (€10.27/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The market locally: 102 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€2,298/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Les Vans€2,298/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ardèche median€1,907/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,588/m²
66
Apartments
€1,999/m²
36
€10.51/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.44 to €13.10/m² a month)
7.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.77/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,450
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Pays des Vans en Cévennes
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
More crime per resident in Les Vans than in 68% of compared French towns
The 2025 count: 77 offenses in Les Vans. Violence against people ran at 11 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 14.7 (2023–2025 average). With 1,350 jobs for 850 working residents, Les Vans draws people in from neighbouring communes. Also worth knowing: the commonest graded crime in the town was criminal damage (2025).
11recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage37
Other physical violence19
Family violence14
Vehicle theft7
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence32
Fraud23
Drug use10
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.
11
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
77
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
8.3%
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 · Small counts of sexual violence, burglary and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 8.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
HealthHealth B
Les Vans is 17.8 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 9 general practitioners in Les Vans. Adjusted for age and care homes, Les Vans records 85 deaths per 100 expected, lower than Ardèche’s towns (90) and near compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 508 residents of Les Vans died, against 502 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% more. Women in Ardèche live to 85.9 on average and men to 79.7 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw101
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
9
GPs in Les Vans · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
17.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Ales Cevennes
17.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Ales Cevennes
85.9 · 79.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ardèche, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Les Vans
Is Les Vans safe?
It grades C for safety, #9 of 16 in Ardèche.
Are schools in Les Vans good?
They grade C+, better than 43% of compared French towns and #13 of 21 in Ardèche. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Les Vans expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Les Vans grades C for cost of living.
About Les Vans
Commune in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Les Vans is a commune of 2,662 people in the Communauté de communes Pays des Vans en Cévennes. 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.
