Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,721 in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Sochaux grades C− overall: better than 17% of compared French towns, and #26 of 28 in Doubs. Its weakest subject is schools (D−): bac results 5.1 points below the expected rate; brevet results 5.5 points below the expected rate. At the median price of €918/m², a 70 m² home costs 2.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 24% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 3 things Sochaux does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Sochaux 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 Sochaux as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Hôtel Beurnier-Rossel (ancien), in Montbéliard, 1.7 mi away.
0.9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Sochaux. Best known first.
MuseumMusée de l'Aventure Peugeotin town
Art galleryChâteau de Montbéliard2.4 km west, in Montbéliard
Art galleryMusée d'archéologie et d'histoire naturelle de Montbéliard2.5 km west, in Montbéliard
MuseumMusée du Château des ducs de Wurtemberg2.4 km west, in MontbéliardFortFortFort Lachaux700 m northwest, in Grand-CharmontChâteauChâteauChâteau Sattler1.6 km southeast, in ExincourtPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sochaux.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Sochaux, 86.2% of lycée candidates passed the bac, below both Doubs’ towns (87.5%) and compared French towns (92.9%). At the 3 vocational lycées within 5 km, 80% of 350 candidates passed the bac pro. The town’s schools place #27 of 33 in Doubs on results.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jouffroy d'AbbansNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 172 | 74%−6 pts |
| Lycée général et technologique Georges CuvierNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 308 | 90%−6 pts |
| Collège Claude LoriusBest against expectations: 5 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 93 | 68%+5 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Sochaux holds 6,050 jobs; 1,150 of its residents are in work, so 5.3 jobs each. The median disposable income was €18,590 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Doubs’ towns (€26,330) and compared French towns (€25,970). Walking, cycling and public transport carried nearly a quarter of commuters at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Doubs can expect 85.7 years and a boy 79.4 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. France’s death rates at each age would predict 341 deaths in Sochaux from 2016 to 2025; there were 415, 22% more. The nearest emergency department to Sochaux is Hnfc site Trevenans, 4.6 mi away.
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 adjustment for care homes is TownRatings’ own modeling, not an official figure.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Sochaux is the cheapest of the 34 towns in Doubs: its median sale is €918/m². 72 sales of houses and apartments here, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €918/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.59/m² a month, close to Doubs’ towns (€10.97/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments | €845/m² | 52 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Sochaux (2025). In all, 58 offenses reached the police record here in 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 10.3 cases of violence against people and 16.2 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of sexual violence, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 4.0% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
12% of the population is aged 15 to 24, above both Doubs’ towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). The middle age in Sochaux is 43.3. The under-15s are 18% of the population here.
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
| Sochaux | Doubs median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 23% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 35% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 17% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Doubs median and France median: the median of compared communes
Nothing in Sochaux is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
2 notable people were born in Sochaux.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sochaux | 3,721 | — | C− | A− | C | D |
| Vieux-Charmont | 2,786 | 0.7 | — | B | — | B− |
| Grand-Charmont | 5,873 | 1.1 | C | B+ | B+ | C |
| Exincourt | 3,277 | 1.2 | B | B | B | B+ |
| Étupes | 3,689 | 1.6 | C+ | B | B− | C+ |
| Montbéliard | 24,672 | 1.8 | D | A− | D | C− |
| Bethoncourt | 5,308 | 1.9 | C | A | C+ | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C for safety, #24 of 28 in Doubs.
They grade D−, better than 3% of compared French towns and #27 of 33 in Doubs. 90% of 308 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Georges Cuvier in 2025, 6 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €918/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Sochaux grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Sochaux is a commune of 3,721 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération. 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.