Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,176 people live in this town in Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Schools are its weak spot: bac results 3 points below the expected rate; brevet results 3 points below the expected rate. Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence grades C overall and ranks #23 of 36 in Drôme. That leaves it better than 26% of compared French towns. Crime runs high: an average of 7.1 recorded violent incidents and 21.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Its strongest is health (B+) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 21% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Jobs & income is a strength too (B+): 1 job per working resident; 8.8% unemployment. At €2,602/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 7.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Valence Romans Agglo.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023 · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Saint-Marcel-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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Ruf "le Haut", in Valence, 4 mi away.
4.5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
For exam results, it comes #31 of 32 in Drôme. At the lycées within 5 km of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, 90.0% passed the bac, below Drôme’s towns (93.3%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. The closest collège is 2.3 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Marcel PagnolNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 140 | 84%−2 pts |
| Lycée général et technologique les trois SourcesNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 219 | 90%−3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
In all, 165 offenses reached the police record in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence in 2025. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence (2025).
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 610 deaths in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence from 2016 to 2025; there were 546, 11% 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. For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence can choose among 6 GPs.
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 · This figure includes a care-home adjustment that TownRatings models; no official statistic exists.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,602/m², comes from 136 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence from July 2023 to June 2026. The sales split: 88% houses, the rest apartments. The estimated advertised rent is €12.13/m² a month, above Drôme’s towns (€11.33/m²) and close to compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,635/m² | 119 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Per resident in work, Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence counts 1 jobs (2,700 jobs, 2,650 workers). Half of residents lived on more than €26,570 a year per consumption unit, above Drôme’s towns (€25,300) and close to compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 5.3% of working residents in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, above Drôme’s towns (9.8%) and close to compared French towns (11%). The age that splits Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence in two is 44.9. 18% of residents are children under 15.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence | Drôme median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 9.8% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 22% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 19% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 25% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 33% | 32% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Drôme median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage in and near Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence. Best known first.
Nothing in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence | 6,176 | — | C | C | C− | B+ |
| Châteauneuf-sur-Isère | 4,281 | 3 | B+ | C− | A− | B |
| Bourg-lès-Valence | 19,992 | 3 | C | C+ | C | B− |
| Alixan | 2,729 | 3 | B | C+ | C− | A− |
| Montélier | 4,323 | 3.8 | A+ | C | A | A+ |
| Valence | 64,458 | 3.9 | D | C+ | D | C+ |
| Malissard | 3,294 | 4.7 | B+ | C | A+ | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #25 of 36 in Drôme. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 41 acts of criminal damage.
They grade D, better than 10% of compared French towns. 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.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,602/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence is a commune of 6,176 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
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.