Barbières has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is walkability (C−): 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% 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.
Each subject compares Barbières 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.
INSEE, census 2023 · Drôme median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Unemployment in Barbières, 7.1%, runs below Drôme’s towns and compared French towns
Barbières sits below both Drôme’s towns (10.5%) and compared French towns (10.1%) on this measure. Barbières has 100 jobs for 550 working residents, 0.2 per worker.
4%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving91%
On foot3%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport0%
100
jobs based in Barbières, 0.2 per working resident
7.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,010
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 21% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Barbières sees 92 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Drôme’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
That puts Barbières above both Drôme’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from D to A−.
−8%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw92
Adjusted92
Median town88
Expected100
0
GPs in Barbières · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopitaux Drome Nord Romans Sur Isere
8.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopitaux Drome Nord Romans Sur Isere
85.7 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Drôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Renting in Barbières costs less than in Drôme’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €10.20/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
On this, Barbières is below both Drôme’s towns (€11.33/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €2,685/m², comes from 50 sales of houses and apartments in Barbières from July 2023 to June 2026. A home here costs 7.4 years of the median income in Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo.
€2,685/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Barbières€2,685/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Drôme median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,712/m²
48
€10.20/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.94 to €13.09/m² a month)
7.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.16/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,310
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Barbières
Is Barbières safe?
Barbières has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5 recorded violent incidents and 13.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Barbières expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,685/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Barbières grades B− for cost of living.
About Barbières
Commune in Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Barbières is a commune of 1,143 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo. 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.