Soyaux grades C+ overall: better than 36% of compared French towns, and #24 of 26 in Charente. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 1.5 jobs per working resident; 22.8% unemployment. At the median price of €1,634/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.5 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): 91% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 16% 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 Soyaux 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 Soyaux.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Soyaux has higher unemployment than Charente’s towns or compared French towns: 22.8%
Soyaux sits above both Charente’s towns (11.0%) and compared French towns (10.1%) on this measure. The median disposable income is €20,830 a year per consumption unit.
16%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
Public transport10%
On foot3%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
4,650
jobs based in Soyaux, 1.5 per working resident
22.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,830
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
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
Safety
Soyaux records more crime per resident than 79% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 268 offenses in the graded categories in Soyaux in 2025. Violence against people ran at 9.9 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 19.3 (2023–2025 average). 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, 0.2% of the index here.
9.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage111
Family violence48
Other physical violence32
Sexual violence27
Theft from vehicles22
Burglary19
Vehicle theft9
Drug use103
Fraud92
Theft without violence81
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.
9.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
19.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
268
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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
HousingCost of living B
Soyaux gets a B for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,634/m², comes from 296 sales of houses and apartments in Soyaux from July 2023 to June 2026. In Soyaux, houses go for €1,638/m² and apartments for €1,556/m².
€1,634/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Soyaux€1,634/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Charente median€1,635/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,638/m²
251
Apartments
€1,556/m²
45
€11.10/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.07 to €13.59/m² a month)
4.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.81/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,280
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Angoulême
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
2 historic monuments, none of them classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Soyaux, none of them classé, France’s highest protection. 3.4% 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 C+
Soyaux’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 59% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,069 residents of Soyaux died, against 1,049 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. Its two care homes for older people (134 places) count their residents as Soyaux’s; allowing for them, deaths were 9% 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.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Soyaux · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Angouleme
0.8 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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Soyaux
Is Soyaux safe?
It grades C− for safety, #20 of 26 in Charente. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 111 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Soyaux good?
They grade B−, better than 49% of compared French towns and #16 of 23 in Charente. 96% of 352 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Marguerite de Valois in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Soyaux expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,634/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.10/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Soyaux grades B for cost of living.
About Soyaux
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Soyaux is a commune of 10,087 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.
