Angoulême grades C+ overall: better than 38% of compared French towns, and #23 of 26 in Charente. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 17.8 recorded violent incidents and 38.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,656/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Angoulême. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 94% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 29% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Angoulême 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 Angoulême.
Safety
Crime per resident in Angoulême runs higher than in 99% of compared French towns
Angoulême ranks last of the 26 compared towns in Charente on the Safety Grade. Police and gendarmerie recorded 2,103 offenses in the graded categories in Angoulême in 2025. With 29,750 jobs for 16,650 working residents, Angoulême draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
17.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage769
Other physical violence333
Theft from vehicles330
Family violence258
Sexual violence166
Burglary139
Vehicle theft101
Armed robbery7
Theft without violence676
Fraud427
Drug use288
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.
17.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
38.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,103
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Angoulême has higher unemployment than Charente’s towns or compared French towns: 18.3%
For Angoulême, that is above both Charente’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €22,490 a year per consumption unit.
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving65%
On foot13%
Public transport12%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
29,750
jobs based in Angoulême, 1.8 per working resident
18.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,490
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 96% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
38 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2010
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 38 historic monuments in Angoulême: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 34 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2010. 12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B+
Allowing for age and care homes, Angoulême sees fewer deaths than Charente’s towns or compared French towns: 83 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Angoulême sits below both Charente’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. From 2016 to 2025, 4,053 residents of Angoulême died, against 4,296 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−17%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw94
Adjusted83
Median town88
Expected100
25
GPs in Angoulême · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Angouleme
1.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier D Angouleme
85.7 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Charles-Augustin Coulomb: Louis Hierle, Public domain · Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême: Jean Clouet, Public domain · Adrien Silva: Екатерина Лаут, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Amandine Bourgeois: Albin Olsson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guillaume Faye: Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Angoulême’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 Angoulême
Is Angoulême safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 139 burglaries and 769 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Angoulême good?
They grade B−, better than 52% of compared French towns and #15 of 23 in Charente. 93% of 319 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Guez de Balzac in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Angoulême expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,656/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €1,717/m² (1,134 sales), apartments €1,601/m² (750 sales). Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.39/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Angoulême grades B for cost of living.
About Angoulême
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Angoulême is a commune of 41,908 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Angoulême. 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.
