Chef-Boutonne’s best grade is for cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Safety is another plus: an average of 7.4 recorded violent incidents and 9.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 1.5 jobs per working resident; 15.9% unemployment. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools, C+ for health and B for walkability.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Chef-Boutonne has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Chef-Boutonne 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.
Château de Javarzay: Photo: Henri MOREAU · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Saint-Sulpice: Photo: Poitvin · CC BY-SA 4.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Chef-Boutonne.
Who lives here
Chef-Boutonne skews older, with 38% of residents 65 or over, more than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns and across compared French towns
58.6median age
Degrees are held by 15% of adults, lower than both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (25%) and compared French towns (30%). The share of residents under 15 is 11%. In addition, people aged 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
Chef-BoutonneDeux-Sèvres medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
38%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma33%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education15%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Deux-Sèvres median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living A
Buying in Chef-Boutonne costs less than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns and across compared French towns: the median sale is €1,085/m²
€1,085/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.61/m² a month, about level with Deux-Sèvres’ towns (€9.89/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses were 97% of what sold. 118 houses and apartments changed hands in Chef-Boutonne from July 2023 to June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Chef-Boutonne€1,085/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Deux-Sèvres median€1,508/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,043/m²
115
€9.61/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.32 to €12.62/m² a month)
3.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.69/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,390
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Mellois en Poitou
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Chef-Boutonne ranks below 72% of compared French towns for crime per resident
7.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Police and gendarmerie recorded 31 offenses in Chef-Boutonne in 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in Chef-Boutonne (1,050 to 700): it draws people in from around. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage16
Family violence15
Armed robbery0
Fraud8
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.
7.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
31
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
20.2%
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 · 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, 20.2% of the index here. That estimated share passes 10%, so treat this Safety Grade with more caution than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Chef-Boutonne has higher unemployment than Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns: 15.9%
12%walk, cycle or take transit
After tax and benefits, the median income is €21,870 a year per consumption unit.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot9%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport1%
1,050
jobs based in Chef-Boutonne, 1.5 per working resident
15.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,870
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 64% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Chef-Boutonne: 26% were built before 1919, more than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns and across compared French towns
3historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Chef-Boutonne is Église Saint-Chartier de Javarzay. On the Culture ministry’s list, Chef-Boutonne counts 3 historic monuments: 2 classé at the top level of protection and 1 inscrit at the second. Since 2018, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. The oldest protected building goes back to the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Chef-Boutonne records 91 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 85 in Deux-Sèvres’ towns and 88 in compared French towns
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 497 deaths in Chef-Boutonne from 2016 to 2025; there were 542, 9% more. The nearest emergency department to Chef-Boutonne is Centre hospitalier de Ruffec, 14.6 mi away. There are 6 general practitioners here. At birth, a girl in Deux-Sèvres can expect 85.3 years and a boy 79.4 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw109
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Chef-Boutonne · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Ruffec
22.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Niort
85.3 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Deux-Sèvres, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
84.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, a point above the expected rate
84.0%passed the brevetB−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Chef-Boutonne, 85.0% passed the bac, below Deux-Sèvres’ towns (95.8%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. The nearest general lycée is 8.2 mi away.
Chef-Boutonne is a commune of 2,371 people in the Communauté de communes Mellois en Poitou. 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
Population
2,371 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Mellois en Poitou
Département
Deux-Sèvres (79)
Région
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Area
15.7 sq mi (40.8 km²)
INSEE code
79083
Chef-Boutonne’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
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.
