Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,195 in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Saône grades A overall: better than 93% of compared French towns, and #5 of 28 in Doubs. Its strongest is safety (A): an average of 4.3 recorded violent incidents and 9.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The one thing Saône does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saône 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saône as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Lunette de Trois-Châtels, in Besançon, 3.6 mi away.
3.2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saône.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For Saône, that is above both Doubs’ towns (85.0%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Entre Deux VellesNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 178 | 96%±0 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Saône sits above both Doubs’ towns (€26,330) and compared French towns (€25,970) on this measure. 9.0% of the labour force are out of work. Saône has 1,200 jobs for 1,350 working residents, 0.9 per worker.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That is the middle of 91 sales of houses and apartments in Saône from July 2023 to June 2026, against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns and €1,556/m² for the median of compared towns in Doubs.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,380/m² | 61 |
| Apartments | €2,293/m² | 30 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
That puts Saône above both Doubs’ towns (26%) and compared French towns (30%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
| Saône | Doubs median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Doubs median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 312 residents of Saône died, against 326 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 4% fewer. Its care home for older people (24 places) counts its residents as Saône’s; allowing for it, deaths were 10% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C to B+.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Saône is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Saône yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saône | 3,195 | — | A | C+ | A | B− |
| Thise | 2,994 | 4.6 | — | C | — | B− |
| Besançon | 118,489 | 5 | C | C | C− | B |
| École-Valentin | 2,579 | 7 | A− | C− | B+ | A+ |
| Miserey-Salines | 2,661 | 8 | — | C− | — | A |
| Ornans | 4,419 | 8.1 | A+ | A− | A− | B+ |
| Les Auxons | 2,533 | 9.2 | — | C | — | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A for safety, #6 of 28 in Doubs.
They grade A−, better than 84% of compared French towns and #4 of 33 in Doubs. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.78/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saône grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Saône is a commune of 3,195 people in the Communauté urbaine Grand Besançon Métropole. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 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.