Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2,004 people, this town lies in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Serre-les-Sapins’s best grade is for jobs & income: 0.9 jobs per working resident; 5.2% unemployment. Health is another plus: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 29% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Buying in is costly (C): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Pupils here do less well than most (C+): bac results 2.5 points below the expected rate; brevet results 2.5 points above the expected rate.
Figures: employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education. Serre-les-Sapins 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.
The one thing Serre-les-Sapins does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Serre-les-Sapins 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.
Serre-les-Sapins has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Serre-les-Sapins as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Amphithéâtre romain, in Besançon, 3.9 mi away.
Explore the history →Heritage, gardens and museums in and near Serre-les-Sapins. Best known first.
GardenJardin botanique de Besançon4.3 km east, in BesançonChâteauChâteauChâteau de Franois1.2 km southwest, in FranoisFortFortOuvrages de la crête de Pouilley-les-Vignes3 km north, in Pouilley-les-VignesChâteauChâteauChâteau d'École4.7 km northeast, in École-ValentinFortFortFort des Montboucons3.7 km east, in PireyChâteauChâteauChâteau Galland3.1 km east, in BesançonPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Serre-les-Sapins.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Serre-les-Sapins has 2 family doctors. In Doubs, women can expect to live 85.7 years and men 79.4 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 105 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 147: 29% below.
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 · The care-home step is TownRatings’ own calculation, not an official number.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €12.90/m² a month, above Doubs’ towns (€10.97/m²) and close to compared French towns (€12.41/m²). House rents are put at about €9.94/m² a month. Houses were 71% of what sold.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,434/m² | 55 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the vocational lycée within 5 km, 84% of 99 candidates passed the bac pro. For collège, the closest is 1 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Georges PompidouNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 138 | 90%−3 pts |
| Lycée général et technologique Victor HugoNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 318 | 94%−2 pts |
| Collège DiderotBest against expectations: 11 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 107 | 75%+11 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
The median disposable income was €28,290 a year per consumption unit, above both Doubs’ towns (€26,330) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 3.9% of working residents in Serre-les-Sapins went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over, below both Doubs’ towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%). Children under 15 count for just over a fifth of the people here. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 8.9% of residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
| Serre-les-Sapins | Doubs median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 8.9% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 12% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 21% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 46% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Doubs median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Serre-les-Sapins 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 Serre-les-Sapins 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serre-les-Sapins | 2,004 | — | — | C | — | A |
| École-Valentin | 2,579 | 3.2 | A− | C− | B+ | A+ |
| Miserey-Salines | 2,661 | 3.6 | — | C− | — | A |
| Besançon | 118,489 | 3.7 | C | C | C− | B |
| Les Auxons | 2,533 | 4.1 | — | C | — | A− |
| Saint-Vit | 5,133 | 7 | A− | C+ | B− | B+ |
| Thise | 2,994 | 7.1 | — | C | — | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Serre-les-Sapins has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.2 recorded violent incidents and 2.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade C+, better than 37% of compared French towns. 94% of 318 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Victor Hugo in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Serre-les-Sapins grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Serre-les-Sapins is a commune of 2,004 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 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.