Ruffec grades B+ overall: better than 66% of compared French towns, and #13 of 26 in Charente. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 24.3 recorded violent incidents and 24.8 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 €1,161/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Val de Charente. Its strongest is walkability (A): 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 28% 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 Ruffec 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 Ruffec.
Safety
Crime per resident in Ruffec runs higher than in 98% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 173 offenses in the graded categories in Ruffec in 2025. Ruffec comes 25th of the 26 compared towns in Charente on the Safety Grade. With 3,450 jobs for 1,100 working residents, Ruffec draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
24.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage56
Family violence47
Other physical violence27
Sexual violence15
Burglary14
Theft from vehicles8
Vehicle theft6
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence41
Fraud25
Drug use21
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.
24.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
173
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.6%
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−
Unemployment in Ruffec, 17.1%, runs above Charente’s towns and compared French towns
For Ruffec, that is above both Charente’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%). 27.6% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
28%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving62%
On foot20%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter3%
Public transport3%
3,450
jobs based in Ruffec, 3.1 per working resident
17.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,520
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 94% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Children make up only 10% of Ruffec, fewer than in Charente’s towns and compared French towns
Ruffec sits below both Charente’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%) on this measure. 37% of residents are 65 or over.
55.8median age
RuffecCharente medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma33%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat13%
Higher education16%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 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
Schools
89.4% of candidates passed the brevet at the two collèges within 5 km, 2.2 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
91.0% of candidates passed the bac at the lycées within 5 km of Ruffec, below both Charente’s towns (93.6%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Schools rank #2 of 23 in Charente.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Renting in Ruffec costs less than in Charente’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €9.25/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Ruffec below both Charente’s towns (€10.82/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,161/m², comes from 198 sales of houses and apartments in Ruffec from July 2023 to June 2026.
€1,161/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ruffec€1,161/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente median€1,635/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,174/m²
190
€9.25/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.35 to €11.64/m² a month)
3.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.51/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,820
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Val de Charente
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Ruffec keeps more of its old housing than Charente or compared French towns: 18% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On this, Ruffec is above both Charente’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (7.4%). The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Ruffec: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Ruffec is Église Saint-André.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Ruffec’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 56% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 766 residents of Ruffec died, against 700 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 9% more. Its three care homes for older people (192 places) count their residents as Ruffec’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% 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.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw109
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Ruffec · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Ruffec
27 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre Clinical Sa
85.7 · 79
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Charente, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Anne Charrier: Frantogian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ferdinand de Béhagle: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · François Laroche: Gellibert Des Seguins (dir.), Et. David (lith.), Public domain · Pierre-Armand Pinoteau: Gellibert Des Seguins (dir.), Et. David (lith.), Public domain
Ruffec’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 Ruffec
Is Ruffec safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 56 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Ruffec good?
They grade A, better than 86% of compared French towns and #2 of 23 in Charente. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ruffec expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,161/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Ruffec grades A− for cost of living.
About Ruffec
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ruffec is a commune of 3,449 people in the Communauté de communes Val de Charente. 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.
