Is Pierrefontaine-les-Varans a good place to live?
Health is a strength: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 27% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Work and incomes are strong (A−): 1 job per working resident; 7.0% unemployment. Schools are its weak spot — brevet results 9 points below the expected rate. A 70 m² home at the median €2,079/m² costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes des Portes du Haut-Doubs.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Pierrefontaine-les-Varans 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 Pierrefontaine-les-Varans 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 Pierrefontaine-les-Varans.
Schools
Schools around Pierrefontaine-les-Varans do less well than those of 96% of compared French towns
80.0%passed the brevetD−School Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The brevet pass rate near Pierrefontaine-les-Varans is 80.0%, below both Doubs’ towns (85.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%). There is no general lycée within 5 km; one lies 11.2 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A
Mortality in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans, once ages and care homes are allowed for, undercuts Doubs’ towns and compared French towns: 73 per 100 expected
−27%deaths against expected, after care homesAHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 136 residents of Pierrefontaine-les-Varans died, against 166 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 18% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Pierrefontaine-les-Varans is Chi Hc site Rives du Doubs Pontarlier, 23.4 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of Pierrefontaine-les-Varans can choose among 2 GPs. In Doubs, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.7 years for women and 79.4 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw82
Adjusted73
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans · 4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
23.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chi Hc site Rives du Doubs Pontarlier
23.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chi Hc site Rives du Doubs Pontarlier
85.7 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Doubs, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans’s grade for cost of living: an A−
€2,079/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
32 sales of houses and apartments in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,079/m². The estimated advertised rent is €10.78/m² a month, near Doubs’ towns (€10.97/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans€2,079/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Doubs median€1,556/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,079/m²
32
€10.78/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.47 to €13.73/m² a month)
5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.73/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€29,000
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Portes du Haut-Doubs
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans has lower unemployment than Doubs’ towns or compared French towns: 7.0%
9%walk, cycle or take transit
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans has 600 jobs for 550 working residents, 1 per worker. At the census, 8.8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Doubs’ towns (11.6%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €26,690 a year.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot7%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
Public transport0%
600
jobs based in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans, 1 per working resident
7.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,690
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
12%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 63% of compared French towns
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Few people in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans are 15 to 24: 9.1%, fewer than in Doubs’ towns and compared French towns
45.7median age
Retirement age and beyond: a quarter of residents are 65 or older. Typical age in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans: 45.7, the median. 18% are under 15, in line with Doubs’ towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%).
Pierrefontaine-les-VaransDoubs medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP34%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education18%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans is a commune of 1,356 people in the Communauté de communes des Portes du Haut-Doubs. 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
1,356 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Portes du Haut-Doubs
Département
Doubs (25)
Région
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Area
11.2 sq mi (29.1 km²)
INSEE code
25453
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans’ 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 Pierrefontaine-les-Varans
Is Pierrefontaine-les-Varans safe?
Pierrefontaine-les-Varans has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.5 recorded violent incidents and 2.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Are schools in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans good?
They grade D−, better than 4% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pierrefontaine-les-Varans expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,079/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pierrefontaine-les-Varans grades A− for cost of living.
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.
