Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,474 in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Vals-les-Bains’s strongest is health (B+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 21% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Homes sell for a median €1,687/m²: 70 m² comes to 4.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Bassin d'Aubenas. Overall, that makes an A−, better than nearly four fifths of compared French towns. That places it #4 of 16 in Ardèche.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Vals-les-Bains does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Vals-les-Bains 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 →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Vals-les-Bains as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Chapelle Saint-Benoît, in Aubenas, 3.2 mi away.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Vals-les-Bains.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.7% of residents, below both Ardèche’s towns (9.9%) and compared French towns (11%). The age that splits Vals-les-Bains in two is 56.1.
54% women, 46% men
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.
| Vals-les-Bains | Ardèche median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.7% | 9.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 36% | 27% | 22% |
| No diploma | 22% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 24% | 25% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Ardèche median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 601 deaths in Vals-les-Bains from 2016 to 2025; there were 566, 6% fewer. Life expectancy in Ardèche: 85.9 years for women and 79.7 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. For a family doctor, residents of Vals-les-Bains can choose among 5 GPs.
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 · The care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics.
Violence against people ran at 5.3 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 11.6 (2023–2025 average). For 2025, the figures show 41 offenses in Vals-les-Bains. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in the town.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (10.1% of the index here). As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Median disposable income comes to €22,660 a year per consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 2.5% of working residents in Vals-les-Bains to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
On school results, the town ranks #8 of 21 in Ardèche. At the lycées within 5 km of Vals-les-Bains, 93.8% passed the bac, near both Ardèche’s towns (94.1%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Georges GouyNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 86 | 83%−1 pt |
| Lycée polyvalent AstierNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 79 | 97%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €1,953/m² in Vals-les-Bains, apartments for €1,615/m². 198 sales of houses and apartments here, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,687/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.22/m² a month, about level with Ardèche’s towns (€10.27/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,953/m² | 72 |
| Apartments | €1,615/m² | 126 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Vals-les-Bains is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
6 notable people were born in Vals-les-Bains.
Jocelyne Villeton: Michel VILLETON, Public domain · Louis Georges Gouy: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vals-les-Bains | 3,474 | — | A− | B | B+ | B+ |
| Aubenas | 12,416 | 3.5 | B+ | B | D | A− |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon | 2,920 | 4.8 | A | C+ | A | B |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg | 3,031 | 10 | C | B+ | B+ | C− |
| Privas | 8,538 | 12 | B− | A− | C | C |
| Chomérac | 3,183 | 15 | — | B | — | B |
| Le Cheylard | 2,803 | 17 | — | A | — | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B+ for safety, #4 of 16 in Ardèche.
They grade B, better than 64% of compared French towns and #8 of 21 in Ardèche. The lycée stands out: 97% of 79 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Astier in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,687/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Vals-les-Bains grades B for cost of living.
Commune in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Vals-les-Bains is a commune of 3,474 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
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 November 4, 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.