Cognac grades B overall: better than 55% of compared French towns, and #19 of 26 in Charente. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 13 recorded violent incidents and 23.2 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 €1,672/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Cognac. Its strongest is walkability (A): 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% 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 Cognac 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 Cognac.
Safety
Crime per resident in Cognac runs higher than in 92% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 686 offenses in the graded categories in Cognac in 2025. With 13,000 jobs for 7,800 working residents, Cognac draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents. For armed robbery, 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, 0.1% of the index here.
13recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage230
Family violence99
Theft from vehicles93
Burglary88
Other physical violence86
Sexual violence64
Vehicle theft26
Drug use166
Theft without violence142
Fraud112
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.
13
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
686
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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+
Cognac is easier to get around on foot than 90% of compared French towns
19.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above both Charente’s towns (10.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment stands at 14.0%.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving74%
On foot12%
Bicycle5%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter2%
13,000
jobs based in Cognac, 1.7 per working resident
14.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,930
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
20 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 20 historic monuments in Cognac: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 15 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2017. 17% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Cognac’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 58% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 2,211 residents of Cognac died, against 2,057 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 8% more. Its five care homes for older people (357 places) count their residents as Cognac’s; allowing for them, deaths were 10% 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.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Cognac · 3.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopitaux du Grand Cognac
1.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopitaux du Grand Cognac
85.7 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Dolmen de Séchebec: Photo: rosier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Léger: Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Immeuble dit Maison Lestrade ou Maison de la Lieutenance: Photo: Sémhur · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hôtel Verdelin: Photo: Rosier · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jean Monnet: Anonymous Unknown author (Keystone France), Public domain · Christophe Jallet: Xavier NALTCHAYAN from France, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lloyd Mondory: Thomas Ducroquet, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pierre Boiteau: Marthe Boiteau épouse de Pierre Boiteau, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Éric Laugérias: YanRB, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cognac’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 Cognac
Is Cognac safe?
It grades D for safety, #23 of 26 in Charente. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 88 burglaries and 230 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Cognac good?
They grade B+, better than 72% of compared French towns and #7 of 23 in Charente. The lycée stands out: 100% of 68 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé Beaulieu in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Cognac expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,672/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €1,688/m² (639 sales), apartments €1,617/m² (187 sales). Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.12/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Cognac grades B+ for cost of living.
About Cognac
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Cognac is a commune of 18,532 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Cognac. 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.
