Where it does best is cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 64% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Health is its weak spot: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 4% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. 15% of its homes are second homes.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Massiac has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Massiac 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 Massiac.
HousingCost of living A
Renting in Massiac costs less than in Cantal’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.25/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Homes sold for a median €1,194/m², below both Cantal’s towns (€1,411/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Houses were 92% of what sold. The market in Massiac: 71 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€1,194/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Massiac€1,194/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Cantal median€1,411/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,288/m²
65
€8.25/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.36 to €10.72/m² a month)
3.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.18/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,940
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Hautes Terres Communauté
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 34% of people in Massiac are 65 or over, more than in Cantal’s towns and across compared French towns
The share of residents under 15 is 14%. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.9% of residents, below Cantal’s towns (10%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Graduates make up a fifth of adults.
53.6median age
MassiacCantal medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
34%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat22%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Cantal median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Massiac is easier to get around on foot than 80% of compared French towns
7.8% of the labour force are out of work. 850 jobs are based in Massiac, for 700 working residents (1.2 per worker). At the census, 18.7% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, close to Cantal’s towns (17.9%) and above compared French towns (13.4%).
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot15%
Public transport2%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter0%
850
jobs based in Massiac, 1.2 per working resident
7.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,590
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 80% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
More deaths than expected: Massiac is above 70% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
423 deaths in Massiac between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 319: 33% above. Its two care homes for older people (114 places) count their residents as Massiac’s; allowing for them, deaths were 4% below expected. The nearest emergency department to Massiac is Centre hospitalier de Brioude, 9.5 mi away. 2 GPs practise here.
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw133
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Massiac · 2.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Brioude
16 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Saint Flour
84.4 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Cantal, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Old homes shape Massiac: 16% were built before 1919, more than in Cantal’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Massiac is Chapelle de pèlerinage Sainte-Madeleine de Chalet. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments here: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Massiac
Is Massiac safe?
Massiac has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.7 recorded violent incidents and 6.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Massiac expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Massiac grades A for cost of living.
About Massiac
Commune in Cantal, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Massiac is a commune of 1,796 people in the Communauté de communes Hautes Terres Communauté. 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.
