A solid town with one catch. Brives-Charensac grades A overall and ranks #8 of 15 in Haute-Loire. Nationally, it does better than 92% of compared French towns. Housing is within reach: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The trade-off is jobs & income: 1.8 jobs per working resident; 13.7% unemployment.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment, INSEE census 2023.
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 Brives-Charensac 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 Brives-Charensac.
HousingCost of living A−
Renting in Brives-Charensac costs an estimated advertised €9.59/m² a month, against €8.91/m² in Haute-Loire’s towns and €12.41/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,603/m²: 142 houses and apartments sold in Brives-Charensac between July 2023 and June 2026. The split here: €2,142/m² for houses, €1,457/m² for apartments. Of the homes sold, 39% were houses.
€1,603/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Brives-Charensac€1,603/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,142/m²
56
Apartments
€1,457/m²
86
€9.59/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.42 to €12.40/m² a month)
4.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.38/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 C
Brives-Charensac has higher unemployment than Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 13.7%
Households’ median disposable income: €23,780 a year per consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 3.4% of working residents in Brives-Charensac to work at the census.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
On foot7%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,800
jobs based in Brives-Charensac, 1.8 per working resident
13.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,780
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 78% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
94.8% of candidates passed the brevet at the six collèges within 5 km, 2.9 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 93% passed the bac pro, of 228 candidates at 4 lycées. At the lycées within 5 km of Brives-Charensac, 95.9% passed the bac, close to Haute-Loire’s towns (95.3%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). Collège pupils travel 0.7 mi to the nearest one.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Brives-Charensac than in Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 15% are under 15
27% of residents are 65 or over, above both Haute-Loire’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for just over one in ten residents. Half the people of Brives-Charensac are older than 48.3.
48.3median age
Brives-CharensacHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP27%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education27%
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%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Per resident, Brives-Charensac sees less crime than 66% of compared French towns
Violence against people ran at 8.4 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 9.6 (2023–2025 average). The police record for Brives-Charensac lists 61 offenses in 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in Brives-Charensac (2,800 to 1,600): it draws people in from around. The graded crime recorded most in the town was criminal damage (2025).
8.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage29
Family violence20
Other physical violence12
Fraud32
Drug use25
Theft without violence18
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.
8.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
61
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
6.3%
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 sexual violence, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 6.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
HealthHealth B
Fewer deaths than expected: Brives-Charensac is below 63% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Haute-Loire: 85.7 years for women and 80 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. Its care home for older people (87 places) counts its residents as Brives-Charensac’s; allowing for it, deaths were 16% below expected. 537 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 559: 4% below.
−16%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw96
Adjusted84
Median town88
Expected100
7
GPs in Brives-Charensac · 4.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
2.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay
2.2 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
4 historic monuments in Brives-Charensac, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 14th century. Among the classé monuments in Brives-Charensac is Pont de la Chartreuse. 3.5% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Haute-Loire’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Vieux pont de Brives: Photo: Goug · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancienne chartreuse Notre-Dame-du-Puy: Photo: Meunier, A. (17..-18.. ; dessinateur) 1788 · Public domain · Pont de la Chartreuse: Photo: Havang(nl) · CC0
Famous people from Brives-Charensac
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Brives-Charensac yet.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Brives-Charensac
Is Brives-Charensac safe?
It grades B+ for safety, #11 of 15 in Haute-Loire.
Are schools in Brives-Charensac good?
They grade A−, better than 77% of compared French towns and #6 of 19 in Haute-Loire. 99% of 141 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique privé La Chartreuse Paradis in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Brives-Charensac expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,603/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Brives-Charensac grades A− for cost of living.
About Brives-Charensac
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Brives-Charensac is a commune of 4,244 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.
