Espalion grades A+ overall: better than almost every compared French town, and #2 of 14 in Aveyron. At the median price of €1,600/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Comtal Lot et Truyère. Its strongest is safety (A+): an average of 3.4 recorded violent incidents and 3.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 Espalion 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 Espalion.
Safety
Espalion records less crime per resident than 100% of compared French towns
No compared town in Aveyron has less graded crime per resident than Espalion: it ranks first of 14. Police and gendarmerie recorded 29 offenses in the graded categories in Espalion in 2025. For other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 18.2% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
3.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence17
Criminal damage12
Armed robbery0
Drug use35
Fraud25
Theft without violence16
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.
3.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
3.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
29
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
18.2%
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
History
More protected monuments for its size in Espalion than in Aveyron or compared French towns: 15 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
That puts Espalion above both Aveyron’s towns (7.7) and compared French towns (2.5). The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Espalion: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Espalion is Chapelle de Perse.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A
Espalion gets an A for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €8.78/m² a month, close to Aveyron’s towns (€9.38/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,600/m², comes from 229 sales of houses and apartments in Espalion from July 2023 to June 2026. In Espalion, houses go for €1,827/m² and apartments for €1,511/m².
€1,600/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Espalion€1,600/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Aveyron median€1,741/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,827/m²
110
Apartments
€1,511/m²
119
€8.78/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.86 to €11.24/m² a month)
4.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.01/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,760
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Comtal Lot et Truyère
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Older residents shape Espalion: 35% are 65 or over, above Aveyron’s towns and compared French towns
On this, Espalion is above both Aveyron’s towns (30%) and compared French towns (22%). Degrees are held by 25% of adults.
53.1median age
EspalionAveyron medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aveyron 52.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
Espalion has lower unemployment than Aveyron’s towns or compared French towns: 6.5%
For Espalion, that is below both Aveyron’s towns (8.6%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Espalion has 2,400 jobs for 1,800 working residents, 1.3 per worker.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot12%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
2,400
jobs based in Espalion, 1.3 per working resident
6.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,860
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 74% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B
Espalion’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 62% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 736 residents of Espalion died, against 742 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% fewer. Its care home for older people (150 places) counts its residents as Espalion’s; allowing for it, deaths were 16% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−16%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw99
Adjusted84
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Espalion · 4.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
15.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Rodez Hopital Jacques Puel
15.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Rodez Hopital Jacques Puel
85.1 · 80
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Aveyron, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Chapelle de Perse: Photo: Jaume sur Wikipédia français · Public domain · Vestiges du château et de la chapelle de Calmont-d'Olt: Photo: Original téléversé par Rinaldum sur Wikipédia français . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien palais de justice: Photo: Ji-Elle · Public domain · Enceinte fortifiée du village de Flaujac: Photo: Père Igor · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jean Niel: Agence de presse Mondial Photo-Presse, Public domain · Louis Denayrouze: JoJan, CC BY 3.0 · Paul Pezet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Espalion’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Espalion
Is Espalion safe?
It grades A+ for safety, #1 of 14 in Aveyron.
Are schools in Espalion good?
They grade A−, better than 80% of compared French towns and #6 of 13 in Aveyron. 98% of 41 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général privé Immaculée Conception in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Espalion expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,600/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Espalion grades A for cost of living.
About Espalion
Commune in Aveyron, Occitanie
Espalion is a commune of 4,605 people in the Communauté de communes Comtal Lot et Truyère. 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.
