Jarnac grades A overall: better than 86% of compared French towns, and #7 of 26 in Charente. At the median price of €1,469/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.9 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 schools (A−): brevet results 4 points above the expected rate.
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 Jarnac 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 Jarnac.
History
Old homes shape Jarnac: 27% were built before 1919, more than in Charente’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On this, Jarnac is above both Charente’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (7.4%). For its size, Jarnac has 13 protected monuments per 10,000 residents. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
Schools around Jarnac do better than those of 84% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Schools rank #3 of 23 in Charente. Near Jarnac, 90.0% of collège pupils passed the brevet, close to Charente’s towns (88.8%) and above compared French towns (87.5%).
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Children make up only 12% of Jarnac, fewer than in Charente’s towns and compared French towns
In the comparison, Jarnac comes below both Charente’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). Over-65s are 33% of the population.
52.5median age
JarnacCharente medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Jarnac is easier to get around on foot than 79% of compared French towns
14.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Charente’s towns (10.1%) and close to compared French towns (13.4%). Jarnac has 2,500 jobs for 1,750 working residents, 1.5 per worker.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot9%
Public transport4%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,500
jobs based in Jarnac, 1.5 per working resident
11.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,040
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 79% of compared French towns
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B
Jarnac’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 59% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 820 residents of Jarnac died, against 772 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 6% more. Its two care homes for older people (176 places) count their residents as Jarnac’s; allowing for them, deaths were 15% 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.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
1
GPs in Jarnac · 3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopitaux du Grand Cognac
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
Jarnac has more crime per resident than 57% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 130 offenses in the graded categories in Jarnac in 2025. For armed robbery and vehicle theft, 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, 2.8% of the index here.
9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage63
Family violence19
Other physical violence18
Sexual violence15
Burglary9
Theft from vehicles6
Drug use31
Theft without violence29
Fraud26
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.
9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
130
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.8%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Logis de Nanclas: Photo: rosier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Temple protestant: Photo: JLPC · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château des Chabannes: Photo: Rosier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château Saint-Martial: Photo: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Jarnac
Is Jarnac safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #16 of 26 in Charente. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 63 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Jarnac good?
They grade A−, better than 84% of compared French towns and #3 of 23 in Charente. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Jarnac expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.11/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Jarnac grades B+ for cost of living.
About Jarnac
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Jarnac is a commune of 4,486 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.
