Ornans grades A+ overall: better than 97% of compared French towns, and #4 of 28 in Doubs. At the median price of €1,878/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Loue-Lison. Its strongest is jobs & income (A−): 1.4 jobs per working resident; 7.6% unemployment.
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 Ornans 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 Ornans.
History
Ornans is rich in protected monuments: 32 per 10,000 residents, more than Doubs’ towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
In the comparison, Ornans comes above both Doubs’ towns (2.5) and compared French towns (2.5). The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Ornans: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 12 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Ornans is Église Saint-Laurent.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
Unemployment in Ornans, 7.6%, runs below Doubs’ towns and compared French towns
For Ornans, that is below both Doubs’ towns (11.3%) and compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, 20.5% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving74%
On foot14%
Bicycle3%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,550
jobs based in Ornans, 1.4 per working resident
7.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,260
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 79% 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 Ornans costs less than in Doubs’ towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €10.04/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Ornans sits below both Doubs’ towns (€10.97/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) on this measure. The median price, €1,878/m², comes from 193 sales of houses and apartments in Ornans from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses in Ornans sell for €2,062/m² and apartments for €1,494/m².
€1,878/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ornans€1,878/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Doubs median€1,556/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,062/m²
112
Apartments
€1,494/m²
81
€10.04/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.00 to €12.60/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€13.47/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,900
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Loue-Lison
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Ornans records less crime per resident than 76% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 55 offenses in the graded categories in Ornans in 2025. Violence against people ran at 8 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 8.2 (2023–2025 average). For 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, 5.6% of the index here.
8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence22
Criminal damage19
Other physical violence14
Armed robbery0
Fraud30
Theft without violence16
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.
8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
55
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
5.6%
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
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than Ornans’ ages would predict, 82 per 100 expected, under Doubs’ towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
That puts Ornans below both Doubs’ towns (95) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 613 residents of Ornans died, against 628 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% 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
Raw98
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Ornans · 4.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
12 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Universitaire Jean Minjoz Besancon
10.9 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
Église Saint-Laurent: Photo: JGS25 · CC BY 4.0 · Chapelle Saint-Georges: Photo: JGS25 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hôtel de Grospain: Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Maison Granvelle: Photo: PatrickJmahoney · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Ornans
Is Ornans safe?
It grades A− for safety, #9 of 28 in Doubs.
Are schools in Ornans good?
They grade B, better than 55% of compared French towns and #14 of 33 in Doubs. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ornans expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,878/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Ornans grades A− for cost of living.
About Ornans
Commune in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Ornans is a commune of 4,419 people in the Communauté de communes Loue-Lison. 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.
