Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Montbard grades B overall, better than 63% of compared French towns, and ranks #12 of 20 in Côte-d'Or. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health outcomes beat most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 24% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Jobs and pay trail most towns (C−): 2 jobs per working resident; 16.0% unemployment. Schools lag (C−): bac results a point below the expected rate; brevet results 11 points below the expected rate.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Montbard 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 Montbard.
History
Montbard is rich in protected monuments: 11 per 10,000 residents, more than in both Côte-d'Or’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Montbard is Château de Buffon. The town has 5 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 3 classé, the highest protection, and 2 inscrit, the second level. Protection here reaches back to the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A−
Homes in Montbard cost less than in both Côte-d'Or’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,162/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.90/m² a month, below Côte-d'Or’s towns (€12.92/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. Houses in Montbard sell for €1,280/m² and apartments for €969/m². House rents are put at about €8.33/m² a month.
€1,162/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Montbard€1,162/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Côte-d'Or median€2,299/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,280/m²
123
Apartments
€969/m²
52
€9.90/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.84 to €12.51/m² a month)
3.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.33/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,450
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Montbardois
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Montbard, 16.0%, runs above Côte-d'Or’s towns and compared French towns
Montbard has 3,150 jobs for 1,600 working residents, 2 per worker. After tax and benefits, the median income is €22,070 a year per consumption unit. 29.3% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, higher than both Côte-d'Or’s towns (22.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
29%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving64%
On foot18%
Public transport9%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,150
jobs based in Montbard, 2 per working resident
16.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,070
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Montbard loses fewer people than its age profile suggests, 76 per 100 expected, below Côte-d'Or’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Montbard is Centre hospitalier Robert Morlevat Semur En Auxois, 9.2 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 828 residents of Montbard died, against 770 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 7% more. At birth, a girl in Côte-d'Or can expect 86.1 years and a boy 80.4 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. The town has 8 family doctors.
−24%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw107
Adjusted76
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Montbard · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Robert Morlevat Semur En Auxois
9.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Robert Morlevat Semur En Auxois
86.1 · 80.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Côte-d'Or, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
An older town: 33% of people in Montbard are 65 or over, more than in both Côte-d'Or’s towns and compared French towns
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.1% of residents. Children under 15 make up 12%, below both Côte-d'Or’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). Graduates make up nearly a fifth of adults.
52.9median age
MontbardCôte-d'Or medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma30%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education19%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Côte-d'Or 52.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Côte-d'Or median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
Fewer pupils pass the brevet at the collèges near Montbard than in Côte-d'Or’s towns or compared French towns: 75.0%
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
School results put the town #19 of 20 in Côte-d'Or. At the lycées within 5 km of Montbard, 86.0% passed the bac, lower than both Côte-d'Or’s towns (93.3%) and compared French towns (92.9%). General-bac pupils go 9.4 mi to the nearest lycée.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Montbard has more crime per resident than 64% of compared French towns
Violence against people averaged 10.4 per 1,000 residents a year over 2023–2025; graded property crimes averaged 14.4. Police and gendarmerie figures for Montbard show 113 offenses in 2025. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
10.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage45
Theft from vehicles25
Other physical violence20
Sexual violence13
Family violence10
Drug use51
Theft without violence37
Fraud23
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.
10.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
113
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.6%
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 · When armed robbery, burglary and vehicle theft number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (2.6% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Musée des beaux-arts de Montbard and 6 more in and around Montbard
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Montbard. Best known first.
Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton: Alexander Roslin, Public domain · Fabrice Philipot: Eric HOUDAS, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Georges Montbard: Godefroy Durand, Public domain · Georges Louis Marie Leclerc de Buffon: Piat Joseph Sauvage / Édouard Rosotte, Public domain · Louis Hugot: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Marie Vareille: Vincent Adicéam, CC BY-SA 4.0
Montbard’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 Montbard
Is Montbard safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #13 of 20 in Côte-d'Or.
Are schools in Montbard good?
They grade C−, better than 24% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Montbard expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Montbard grades A− for cost of living.
About Montbard
Commune in Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Montbard is a commune of 4,639 people in the Communauté de communes du Montbardois. 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.
