Pleaux has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (C+): 0.8 jobs per working resident; 8.4% unemployment. Its strongest is cost of living (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.6 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.
Each subject compares Pleaux 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 Pleaux.
Who lives here
Pleaux has fewer young adults than Cantal’s towns or compared French towns: 5.3% are 15 to 24
People 65 and over make up just over two fifths of the town, above Cantal’s towns (28%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. One measure of family life: 11% of residents are under 15. Among adults, 17% have a degree.
60.3median age
PleauxCantal medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
42%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education17%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Pleaux keeps more of its old housing than Cantal’s towns or compared French towns: 35% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Pleaux is Ruines du château fort de Branzac. This Cantal town has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Pleaux run higher than in 58% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (41 places) counts its residents as Pleaux’s; allowing for it, deaths were 9% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 274 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 289, 5% more. The nearest emergency department to Pleaux is Centre hospitalier de Mauriac, 7.8 mi away. Average lifespans in Cantal: 84.4 years for women, 80.2 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw105
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Pleaux · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Mauriac
17.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Henri Mondor Aurillac
84.4 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Cantal, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Incomes in Pleaux run lower than in Cantal’s towns or compared French towns: a median €23,040 a year per consumption unit
12.1% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Cantal’s towns (17.9%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. The jobless rate is 8.4%.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot9%
Bicycle2%
Public transport1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
400
jobs based in Pleaux, 0.8 per working resident
8.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,040
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 56% of compared French towns
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Pleaux
Is Pleaux safe?
Pleaux has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.3 recorded violent incidents and 2.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Pleaux expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €843/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Pleaux grades A+ for cost of living.
About Pleaux
Commune in Cantal, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Pleaux is a commune of 1,470 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de Salers. 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.
