Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Police record less crime here than in most towns: an average of 6.9 recorded violent incidents and 7.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Saint-Jean-en-Royans’s overall grade, B, puts it better than 62% of compared French towns. In the ranking it comes #10 of 36 in Drôme. Add cost of living to its strengths — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Pupils here do less well than most (D−): brevet results 13 points below the expected rate. Residents’ health trails most towns (C): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Saint-Jean-en-Royans 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
For crime per resident, Saint-Jean-en-Royans sits below 86% of compared French towns
Recorded offenses in Saint-Jean-en-Royans came to 42 in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Saint-Jean-en-Royans (2025).
6.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearASafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage19
Other physical violence12
Family violence11
Fraud15
Theft without violence7
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.
6.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
42
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
21.9%
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 · 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, 21.9% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
18.7% of commuters in Saint-Jean-en-Royans go to work without a car, more than in Drôme’s towns and across compared French towns
Nearly a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, below Drôme’s towns (10.5%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Per resident in work, Saint-Jean-en-Royans counts 0.9 jobs (1,050 jobs, 1,200 workers). No commute at all: 4.2% of working residents locally at the census.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot9%
Public transport5%
Bicycle4%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,050
jobs based in Saint-Jean-en-Royans, 0.9 per working resident
8.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,640
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 77% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B+
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Saint-Jean-en-Royans than in Drôme’s towns or across compared French towns: €9.18/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,867/m², comes from 83 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Jean-en-Royans from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses were 70% of what sold.
€1,867/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Jean-en-Royans€1,867/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Drôme median€2,388/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,245/m²
58
€9.18/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.16 to €11.79/m² a month)
5.2
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
€24,940
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Royans-Vercors
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Saint-Jean-en-Royans has fewer young adults than Drôme’s towns or compared French towns: 7% are 15 to 24
30% of residents are 65 or over, above Drôme’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. One measure of family life: 14% of residents are under 15. The age that splits Saint-Jean-en-Royans in two is 50.9.
50.9median age
Saint-Jean-en-RoyansDrôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Drôme median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth C
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Jean-en-Royans sees more deaths than 72% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 435 deaths in Saint-Jean-en-Royans from 2016 to 2025; there were 507, 16% more. After the care-home adjustment, Saint-Jean-en-Royans’ deaths ran at 97 per 100 expected, above both Drôme’s towns (88) and compared French towns (88). The nearest emergency department to Saint-Jean-en-Royans is Hopitaux Drome Nord Romans Sur Isere, 13.4 mi away. 3 GPs practise in the town.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw116
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Saint-Jean-en-Royans · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopitaux Drome Nord Romans Sur Isere
13.4 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
Old homes shape Saint-Jean-en-Royans: 17% were built before 1919, more than in Drôme’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century. Saint-Jean-en-Royans has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Jean-en-Royans
Is Saint-Jean-en-Royans safe?
It grades A for safety, #9 of 36 in Drôme.
Are schools in Saint-Jean-en-Royans good?
They grade D−, better than 1% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Jean-en-Royans expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,867/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Jean-en-Royans grades B+ for cost of living.
About Saint-Jean-en-Royans
Commune in Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Jean-en-Royans is a commune of 2,874 people in the Communauté de communes du Royans-Vercors. 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.
