Septèmes-les-Vallons grades low on several counts. Where it falls short is cost of living (D) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The town’s overall grade is D−, better than 3% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #96 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. Police record more crime here than in most towns: an average of 5.3 recorded violent incidents and 25.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It is easy to get around without a car: 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 9% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Septèmes-les-Vallons 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.
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Cheminée-colonne dite « Grande Cheminée du Plomb » · Inscrit · Photo: Piskounov · CC BY-SA 4.0
Septèmes-les-Vallons’ story
Septèmes-les-Vallons in pictures
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Septèmes-les-Vallons: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from prehistory; the first monument here was protected in 2004.
2004First protected: Oppidum des Mayans
2024Most recently protected: Cheminée-colonne dite « Grande Cheminée du Plomb »
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Septèmes-les-Vallons.
HousingCost of living D
Homes in Septèmes-les-Vallons sell for €3,417/m² at the median, against €3,824/m² in Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Septèmes-les-Vallons: €3,757/m² for houses, €3,000/m² for apartments. The estimated advertised rent is €16.64/m² a month, close to Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (€15.81/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 53% were houses.
€3,417/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Septèmes-les-Vallons€3,417/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Bouches-du-Rhône median€3,824/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,757/m²
178
Apartments
€3,000/m²
159
€16.64/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€13.72 to €20.17/m² a month)
9.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.91/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,740
median annual income per consumption unit, Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Septèmes-les-Vallons records more crime per resident than 83% of compared French towns
The police record for Septèmes-les-Vallons lists 357 offenses in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Septèmes-les-Vallons (2025).
5.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage131
Theft from vehicles59
Vehicle theft55
Burglary52
Family violence33
Other physical violence27
Drug use112
Fraud80
Theft without violence47
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.
5.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
25.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
357
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.0%
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 · When sexual violence and armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (1.0% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C−
Septèmes-les-Vallons has a higher adjusted death rate than 78% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Septèmes-les-Vallons records 99 deaths per 100 expected, above both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,066 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,151, 8% more. Life expectancy in Bouches-du-Rhône: 86 years for women and 81 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. This Bouches-du-Rhône town has 6 family doctors.
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Septèmes-les-Vallons · 3.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Aphm Hopital Nord
0.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Aphm Hopital Nord
86 · 81
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Bouches-du-Rhône, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Septèmes-les-Vallons has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.4 for each
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €25,500 a year per consumption unit. Just over a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, higher than both Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (9.4%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Walking, cycling and public transport carried 8.9% of commuters at the census.
9%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
Public transport7%
On foot2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle0%
2,150
jobs based in Septèmes-les-Vallons, 0.4 per working resident
10.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,500
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 72% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A town of families: 19% of people in Septèmes-les-Vallons are under 15, more than in Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns or compared French towns
19% of residents are 65 or over. People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, above Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Graduates make up 30% of adults.
39.6median age
Septèmes-les-VallonsBouches-du-Rhône medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bouches-du-Rhône 51.9%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Bouches-du-Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Septèmes-les-Vallons: 2 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Protection here reaches back to prehistory. Among the classé monuments in Septèmes-les-Vallons is Oppidum des Mayans. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in the town: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). 5.5% of its homes were built before 1919, below Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (6.9%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
78.9% of candidates passed the brevet at the eight collèges within 5 km, at the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Septèmes-les-Vallons is 83.3%, below Bouches-du-Rhône’s towns (92.6%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. The town’s pupils have a collège 0.8 mi away. For the general bac, the closest lycée is 3.2 mi away.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Septèmes-les-Vallons: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Septèmes-les-Vallons
Is Septèmes-les-Vallons safe?
It grades C− for safety, #68 of 99 in Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 52 burglaries and 131 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Septèmes-les-Vallons good?
They grade B−, better than 45% of compared French towns and #57 of 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Septèmes-les-Vallons expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Septèmes-les-Vallons grades D for cost of living.
About Septèmes-les-Vallons
Commune in Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Septèmes-les-Vallons is a commune of 11,995 people in the Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence. 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.
