Buying a home costs less than in most towns: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. With a B− overall, Brioude is better than 55% of compared French towns. It also does well on walkability — 72% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 23% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Its weakest is safety — an average of 14.9 recorded violent incidents and 18.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for schools and B for health.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 Brioude 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 Brioude.
History
Brioude is rich in protected monuments: 14 per 10,000 residents, more than in both Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Since 1994, part of the town has been a site patrimonial remarquable, a protected historic area. Most of the list is houses and mansions: 8 of 9. Among the classé monuments in Brioude is Basilique Saint-Julien. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 11th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living A
Renting in Brioude costs less than in both Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.23/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,461/m², comes from 212 sales of houses and apartments in Brioude from July 2023 to June 2026. In Brioude, houses go for €1,510/m² and apartments for €1,386/m². From July 2023 to June 2026, 212 homes were sold locally.
€1,461/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Brioude€1,461/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,510/m²
159
Apartments
€1,386/m²
53
€8.23/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.47 to €10.48/m² a month)
4.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.28/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,250
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Brioude Sud Auvergne
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
More people in Brioude are out of work than in Haute-Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: 16.9%
Half of residents lived on more than €23,000 a year per consumption unit, below Haute-Loire’s towns (€25,730) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Per resident in work, Brioude counts 2.3 jobs (4,900 jobs, 2,200 workers). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how nearly a quarter of commuters travelled at the census.
23%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving72%
On foot17%
Bicycle3%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
4,900
jobs based in Brioude, 2.3 per working resident
16.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,000
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 89% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Brioude records more crime per resident than 88% of compared French towns
Brioude comes 14th of the 15 compared towns in Haute-Loire on the Safety Grade. In 2025, 239 offenses were recorded here. Also worth knowing: among the graded crimes locally, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
14.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage76
Family violence49
Other physical violence34
Sexual violence27
Vehicle theft20
Burglary19
Theft from vehicles14
Fraud56
Drug use49
Theft without violence47
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.
14.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
239
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.4%
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.4% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Brioude: 32% are 65 or over, above Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Degrees are held by just over a fifth of adults, below Haute-Loire’s towns (27%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. 14% of residents are children under 15. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9.1% of residents.
51.8median age
BrioudeHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma26%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B
Fewer deaths than expected: Brioude is below 56% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
14 GPs practise in Brioude. Its two care homes for older people (233 places) count their residents as Brioude’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. 1,096 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,052: 4% above. Life expectancy in Haute-Loire: 85.7 years for women and 80 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw104
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
14
GPs in Brioude · 3.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Brioude
18.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Paul Ardier Issoire
85.7 · 80
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haute-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Basilique Saint-Julien: Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Ancien hôtel Talayrat: Photo: Jan Niggemann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fontaine Saint-Julien: Photo: Record · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison dite Maison de Mandrin: Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen · CC BY-SA 3.0
Romain Bardet: filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Pierre Vigier: TrisHR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pierre Joseph Aimé Pissis: Paul Bacard, Public domain · Edmond Guyot-Dessaigne: Pierre Petit, Public domain · Antoine Grenier: Louise Abbéma, Public domain
Brioude’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Brioude
Is Brioude safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 76 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Brioude good?
They grade C+, better than 44% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Brioude expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,461/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Brioude grades A for cost of living.
About Brioude
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Brioude is a commune of 6,527 people in the Communauté de communes Brioude Sud Auvergne. 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.
