Homes are affordable: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its lowest grade is for walkability (C) — 24% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health and B for jobs & income. The median sale price is €1,751/m².
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Bains has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Bains 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 Bains.
HousingCost of living A−
Bains gets an A− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.22/m² a month, about level with Haute-Loire’s towns (€8.91/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The sales split: 97% houses, the rest apartments. House rents are put at about €7.61/m² a month.
€1,751/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bains€1,751/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
€9.22/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.11 to €11.97/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.61/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,070
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Puy-en-Velay
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Bains has lower unemployment than Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 6.3%
Jobs located in Bains: 400, for 650 residents in work (0.6 each). The census found 7.4% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. The median disposable income was €24,860 a year per consumption unit, near Haute-Loire’s towns (€25,730) and lower than compared French towns (€25,970).
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
On foot6%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport0%
400
jobs based in Bains, 0.6 per working resident
6.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,860
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C
Walkability: better than 31% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A younger town: only 19% of people in Bains are 65 or over, fewer than in Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 12% of residents. 17% are under 15, above Haute-Loire’s towns (16%) and close to compared French towns (17%). The middle age in Bains is 43.3.
43.3median age
BainsHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education26%
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
More protected monuments for its size in Bains than in Haute-Loire or compared French towns: 36 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century. Among the classé monuments in Bains is Église Sainte-Foy. The Culture ministry lists 5 historic monuments in the town: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level). Most of the list is churches, chapels and other religious buildings: 4 of 5.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
Fewer deaths than expected: Bains is below 53% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
At birth, a girl in Haute-Loire can expect 85.7 years and a boy 80 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 94 residents of Bains died, against 108 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 13% fewer. One GP practises in the town.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw87
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
1
GPs in Bains · 1.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay
5.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay
85.7 · 80
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haute-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bains
Is Bains safe?
Bains has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.7 recorded violent incidents and 3.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Bains expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bains grades A− for cost of living.
About Bains
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bains is a commune of 1,378 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Puy-en-Velay. 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.
