The picture is mixed. Its weakest is schools (C) — bac results 2.3 points below the expected rate; brevet results 2.8 points below the expected rate. At C overall, Bourg-lès-Valence is better than 27% of compared French towns and ranks #22 of 36 in Drôme. It also trails on jobs & income (C) — 0.8 jobs per working resident; 12.3% unemployment. Homes sell for a median €2,133/m²: 70 m² comes to 5.9 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo. Walkability is its strong suit — 97% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and 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.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Bourg-lès-Valence 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 Bourg-lès-Valence.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Bourg-lès-Valence is easier to get around on foot than nine in ten compared French towns
12.3% of the labour force were unemployed, above Drôme’s towns (10.5%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,730 a year per consumption unit. Also worth knowing: at the census, 7.5% of working residents in Bourg-lès-Valence went to work by public transport.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
Public transport8%
On foot6%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
7,000
jobs based in Bourg-lès-Valence, 0.8 per working resident
12.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,730
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
Exam results around Bourg-lès-Valence trail 74% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the 4 vocational lycées within 5 km, 77% of 281 candidates passed the bac pro. School results put the town #15 of 32 in Drôme. Near Bourg-lès-Valence, 86.6% of collège pupils passed the brevet, about level with both Drôme’s towns (85.1%) and compared French towns (87.5%).
95%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Bourg-lès-Valence ranks above 72% of compared French towns for crime per resident
Of the graded crimes in Bourg-lès-Valence, criminal damage came up most often (2025). Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 7.5 cases of violence against people and 19.5 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). The police record for Bourg-lès-Valence lists 495 offenses in 2025.
7.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage167
Family violence86
Burglary72
Theft from vehicles64
Vehicle theft44
Other physical violence42
Sexual violence20
Fraud135
Theft without violence122
Drug use75
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.
7.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
19.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
495
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
1 historic monument, none of them classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Homes from before 1919 make up 3.8% of the total. The oldest protected building goes back to the 19th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living C+
Bourg-lès-Valence gets a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,133/m², comes from 888 sales of houses and apartments in Bourg-lès-Valence from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses sell for €2,500/m² here, apartments for €1,907/m². For a house, the estimated advertised rent is €10.72/m² a month.
€2,133/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bourg-lès-Valence€2,133/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Drôme median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,500/m²
297
Apartments
€1,907/m²
591
€11.67/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.26 to €14.72/m² a month)
5.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.72/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,310
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, Bourg-lès-Valence sees fewer deaths than 52% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 4 general practitioners in Bourg-lès-Valence. Its care home for older people (77 places) counts its residents as Bourg-lès-Valence’s; allowing for it, deaths were 13% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,899 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,720, 9% fewer. In Drôme, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.7 years for women and 80.6 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw91
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Bourg-lès-Valence · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique Pasteur
2.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Valence
85.7 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Drôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Aged 15 to 24: 11% of residents. Bourg-lès-Valence has a median age of 43.2. Children under 15 make up 17%, near both Drôme’s towns (18%) and compared French towns (17%).
43.2median age
Bourg-lès-ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bourg-lès-Valence
Is Bourg-lès-Valence safe?
It grades C for safety, #19 of 36 in Drôme. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 72 burglaries and 167 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bourg-lès-Valence good?
They grade C, better than 26% of compared French towns and #15 of 32 in Drôme. 90% of 219 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique les trois Sources in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bourg-lès-Valence expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,133/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.67/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bourg-lès-Valence grades C+ for cost of living.
About Bourg-lès-Valence
Commune in Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bourg-lès-Valence is a commune of 19,992 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.
