Viviers grades C− overall: better than 17% of compared French towns. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 0.5 jobs per working resident; 14.2% unemployment. Its strongest is cost of living (B+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 5.2 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 overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Viviers 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 Viviers.
History
Viviers is rich in protected monuments: 39 per 10,000 residents, more than in Ardèche’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Viviers: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1982. The earliest of these monuments dates from Antiquity. Among the classé monuments in the town is Pont romain franchissant l'Escoutay.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C−
Viviers’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 83% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Viviers is Groupement hospitalier Portes Provence Montelimar, 7.8 mi away. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Viviers come to 102 per 100 predicted. 626 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 494: 27% above. Women in Ardèche live to 85.9 on average and men to 79.7 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
+2%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw127
Adjusted102
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Viviers · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Groupement hospitalier Portes Provence Montelimar
8.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Groupement hospitalier Portes Provence Montelimar
85.9 · 79.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Ardèche, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Fewer commuters in Viviers walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Ardèche’s towns or compared French towns: 6.0%
Households’ median disposable income: €24,670 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 14.2%, above both Ardèche’s towns (13.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). No commute at all: 3.8% of working residents in Viviers at the census.
6%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving89%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
Bicycle1%
750
jobs based in Viviers, 0.5 per working resident
14.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,670
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 24% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B+
Renting in Viviers costs less than in Ardèche’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €9.68/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Homes sold for a median €1,822/m², about level with Ardèche’s towns (€1,907/m²) and below compared French towns (€2,430/m²). The market in Viviers: 106 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€1,822/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Viviers€1,822/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Ardèche median€1,907/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,986/m²
88
€9.68/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.38 to €12.69/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.60/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,640
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Viviers than in Ardèche’s towns or compared French towns: 14% are under 15
The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9.2% of residents. 27% of residents are 65 or over, near Ardèche’s towns (27%) and higher than compared French towns (22%). Degrees are held by nearly a quarter of adults.
49.6median age
ViviersArdèche medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education23%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Ardèche median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Per resident, Viviers sees more crime than 61% of compared French towns
Among the graded crimes in Viviers, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025). Recorded offenses in the town came to 87 in 2025. Violence against people averaged 6.2 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 17.5.
6.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage36
Family violence18
Burglary11
Theft from vehicles9
Vehicle theft8
Other physical violence5
Armed robbery0
Fraud27
Drug use20
Theft without violence17
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.
6.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
87
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.3%
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 go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 2.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Viviers
Is Viviers safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #8 of 16 in Ardèche. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 11 burglaries and 36 acts of criminal damage.
Is Viviers expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Viviers grades B+ for cost of living.
About Viviers
Commune in Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Viviers is a commune of 3,633 people in the Communauté de communes du Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche. 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
Population
3,633 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes du Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche
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.
