Baume-les-Dames does especially well on cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The town ranks #17 of 28 in Doubs, with a B− overall. That leaves it better than 55% of compared French towns. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A): 73% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Where it falls short is health (C−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 1% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools and B− for jobs & income.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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 Baume-les-Dames 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 Baume-les-Dames.
History
6 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2023
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2023. Baume-les-Dames has 12 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Doubs’ towns (2.5) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments here is Abbaye de bénédictines. The oldest protected building goes back to the 15th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
More commuters in Baume-les-Dames walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Doubs’ towns or compared French towns: 21.3%
The median disposable income was €24,670 a year per consumption unit, below Doubs’ towns (€26,330) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. 2,400 jobs are based in Baume-les-Dames, for 2,050 working residents (1.2 per worker). The jobless rate is 9.9%.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
On foot12%
Public transport7%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,400
jobs based in Baume-les-Dames, 1.2 per working resident
9.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,670
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 87% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A
Renting in Baume-les-Dames costs less than in both Doubs’ towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €9.78/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In Baume-les-Dames, houses go for €1,848/m² and apartments for €1,377/m². Behind the median of €1,561/m²: 161 houses and apartments sold here between July 2023 and June 2026. Among the homes sold, 52% were houses.
€1,561/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Baume-les-Dames€1,561/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Doubs median€1,556/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,848/m²
84
Apartments
€1,377/m²
77
€9.78/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.58 to €12.61/m² a month)
4.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.27/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,160
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Doubs Baumois
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Baume-les-Dames is 20.3 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy at birth in Doubs is 85.7 years for women and 79.4 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 15 GPs practise in Baume-les-Dames. After the care-home adjustment, Baume-les-Dames’ deaths ran at 101 per 100 expected, above Doubs’ towns (95) and compared French towns (88) alike. France’s death rates at each age would predict 759 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 950, 25% more.
+1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw125
Adjusted101
Median town88
Expected100
15
GPs in Baume-les-Dames · 5.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
20.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Universitaire Jean Minjoz Besancon
19.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique de Franche Comte
85.7 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Doubs, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Baume-les-Dames sees more crime per resident than 78% of compared French towns
The commonest graded crime in Baume-les-Dames was criminal damage (2025). Recorded offenses here came to 172 in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Baume-les-Dames ranks 27th of the 28 compared towns in Doubs. Violence against people ran at 11.8 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 17.1 (2023–2025 average).
11.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage65
Other physical violence34
Family violence25
Theft from vehicles20
Sexual violence18
Burglary10
Theft without violence40
Fraud37
Drug use29
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.
11.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
172
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.9%
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 armed robbery and vehicle theft, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Baume-les-Dames: 29% are 65 or over, above Doubs’ towns and compared French towns
15% are under 15, below both Doubs’ towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). Graduates make up 26% of adults. At 48.7, the median resident of Baume-les-Dames sits in the middle of the age range.
48.7median age
Baume-les-DamesDoubs medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education26%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Doubs median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
87.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 2 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Baume-les-Dames, 84.0% passed the bac, lower than both Doubs’ towns (87.5%) and compared French towns (92.9%). On school results, the town ranks #13 of 33 in Doubs.
Abbaye de bénédictines: Photo: Bocachete · Public domain · Hôtel des Sires de Neuchâtel: Photo: Jean espirat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Saint-Martin: Photo: Teleloisirs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bailliage (auditoire et prisons): Photo: Sacamol · CC BY-SA 3.0
Édouard Grenier: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Nicolas-Gabriel Clerc, dit Le Clerc: Луиза Перон-Лабру, Public domain · Claude-Jules Grenier: Claude-Jules Grenier (1817-1883), Public domain · Jean Bernard: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain · Louis Besson: GO69, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maurice Bernard: Unknown photographer, Public domain
Baume-les-Dames’ 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 Baume-les-Dames
Is Baume-les-Dames safe?
It grades C− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 65 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Baume-les-Dames good?
They grade B, better than 55% of compared French towns and #13 of 33 in Doubs. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Baume-les-Dames expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,561/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Baume-les-Dames grades A for cost of living.
About Baume-les-Dames
Commune in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Baume-les-Dames is a commune of 5,155 people in the Communauté de communes du Doubs Baumois. 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.
