Val-de-Cognac grades A overall: better than 94% of compared French towns, and #4 of 26 in Charente. Its weakest subject is walkability (D−): 29% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 3% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,419/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.8 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 safety (A+): an average of 3.5 recorded violent incidents and 4.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 Val-de-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 Val-de-Cognac.
Safety
Crime per resident in Val-de-Cognac runs lower than in 99% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 24 offenses in the graded categories in Val-de-Cognac in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Val-de-Cognac ranks 2nd of the 26 compared towns in Charente. For other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 24.6% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
3.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence13
Criminal damage11
Armed robbery0
Fraud12
Theft without violence11
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.
3.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
4.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
24.6%
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
History
Old homes shape Val-de-Cognac: 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.
For Val-de-Cognac, that is above both Charente’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Val-de-Cognac has 20 protected monuments for every 10,000 residents. The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Val-de-Cognac: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B
On foot, Val-de-Cognac works less well than 95% of compared French towns
At the census, 3.3% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Charente’s towns (10.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%). 9.0% of the labour force are out of work. Val-de-Cognac has 1,050 jobs for 1,500 working residents, 0.7 per worker.
3%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving91%
On foot1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
Public transport1%
1,050
jobs based in Val-de-Cognac, 0.7 per working resident
9.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,610
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
D−
Walkability: better than 5% of compared French towns
INSEE, census 2023 · Charente median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than Val-de-Cognac’s ages would predict, 82 per 100 expected, under Charente’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
That puts Val-de-Cognac below both Charente’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 332 residents of Val-de-Cognac died, against 407 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw82
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Val-de-Cognac · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopitaux du Grand Cognac
5.2 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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Val-de-Cognac
Is Val-de-Cognac safe?
It grades A+ for safety, #2 of 26 in Charente.
Is Val-de-Cognac expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €10.82/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Val-de-Cognac grades A− for cost of living.
About Val-de-Cognac
Commune in Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Val-de-Cognac is a commune of 3,471 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.
