Charquemont, #1 on this list · Photo: Wikipedro (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Doubs · 2026

Best places to live in Doubs

Charquemont ranks first of 28 ranked towns of 2,500 or more in Doubs, and #7 of 3,798 French towns. 11 of the 28 grade A− or better; scores run from 82.6 down to 33.7.

The overall score, sorted within the département; the letter compares each town with every French town of 2,500+, and its rank among French towns sits beside it. How grades work

Charquemont

2,900 people

A⁺

Score 82.6·#7 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A⁺, schools A·lowest: walkability B⁻

Maîche

4,254 people

A⁺

Score 76.7·#44 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: schools A, safety A·lowest: health C

Villers-le-Lac

5,292 people

A⁺

Score 74.1·#89 of 3,798 French towns

Strongest: safety A⁺, health B⁺·lowest: walkability C⁺

All 28 towns, ranked

By overall score against French towns; ranks are within the département, and each French rank links to the national list.

Every town in Doubs →

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28 towns

#TownScoreGrade · French rankWhat drives it

1Charquemont2,900 people82.6top 0.2%A⁺#7 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, schools A·lowest: walkability B⁻

2Maîche4,254 people76.7top 1.1%A⁺#44 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: schools A, safety A·lowest: health C

3Villers-le-Lac5,292 people74.1top 2.3%A⁺#89 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, health B⁺·lowest: walkability C⁺

4Ornans4,419 people72.5top 3.3%A⁺#125 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A⁻, walkability A⁻·lowest: schools B

5Saône3,195 people67.7top 7.4%A#283 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, schools A⁻·lowest: cost of living C⁺

6Morteau6,953 people65.4top 11.1%A#422 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, jobs & income A⁻·lowest: health C

7Pont-de-Roide-Vermondans3,912 people60.8top 19.0%A⁻#723 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, schools A⁻·lowest: health D

8Doubs3,335 people60.2top 20.0%A⁻#760 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁺, jobs & income A⁺·lowest: health D⁻

9Saint-Vit5,133 people59.7top 21.2%A⁻#807 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, walkability B⁺·lowest: cost of living C⁺

10Pontarlier18,067 people59.6top 21.6%A⁻#823 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, schools A⁻·lowest: cost of living C⁺

11École-Valentin2,579 people59.3top 22.2%A⁻#845 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A⁺, health A⁺·lowest: cost of living C⁻

12Valdahon5,705 people56.2top 29.4%B⁺#1,117 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A, walkability A⁻·lowest: schools C⁻

13Voujeaucourt3,174 people56.1top 29.9%B⁺#1,135 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: jobs & income A⁻, safety A⁻·lowest: schools D⁻

14Seloncourt5,854 people54.1top 34.7%B⁺#1,319 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁻, walkability A⁻·lowest: schools C⁻

15Hérimoncourt3,508 people52.5top 39.4%B#1,497 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, schools A⁻·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

16Exincourt3,277 people52.3top 40.0%B#1,520 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, health B⁺·lowest: schools D⁻

17Baume-les-Dames5,155 people50.5top 45.3%B⁻#1,721 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A·lowest: health C⁻

18Bavans3,582 people48.9top 50.0%B⁻#1,899 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: safety A, cost of living B⁺·lowest: schools D

19Étupes3,689 people45.0bottom 39.5%C⁺#2,299 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, jobs & income B·lowest: schools D⁻

20Valentigney10,501 people43.7bottom 36.2%C⁺#2,422 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A⁻, walkability A⁻·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

21Grand-Charmont5,873 people42.2bottom 32.6%C#2,559 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, cost of living B⁺·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

22Besançon118,489 people41.0bottom 30.0%C#2,659 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, health B·lowest: safety C⁻

23Bethoncourt5,308 people40.8bottom 29.3%C#2,686 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

24L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs2,780 people36.8bottom 19.6%C⁻#3,053 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: cost of living A, walkability A·lowest: schools D⁻

25Mandeure4,612 people35.9bottom 17.7%C⁻#3,127 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, cost of living B·lowest: jobs & income D

26Sochaux3,721 people35.4bottom 16.6%C⁻#3,167 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, cost of living A⁻·lowest: schools D⁻

27Audincourt14,071 people35.2bottom 16.1%C⁻#3,188 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A⁻·lowest: health D

28Montbéliard24,672 people33.7bottom 13.5%D#3,287 of 3,798 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, cost of living A⁻·lowest: schools D⁻

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Doubs?

Charquemont ranks first of 28 graded towns of 2,500 or more: safety (A+) and schools (A) are its strongest grades; walkability (B−) is its lowest. Maîche and Villers-le-Lac follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends six graded subjects (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs and income, walkability) from public data, each comparing a town with every French town of 1,000 or more. The rank is among the towns of 2,500 or more in Doubs, where five or more have an overall grade.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500 or more with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their grades on their own pages; every commune is listed on the Doubs page.

Photos: Charquemont, Wikipedro (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Maîche, Wikipedro (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Villers-le-Lac, JGS25 (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, run #57 of November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).

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.