Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,585 people live in this town in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
With an A+ overall, Espaly-Saint-Marcel is better than 96% of compared French towns. That places it #4 of 15 in Haute-Loire. Prices are modest for what you get: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Work and incomes lag (C): 0.6 jobs per working resident; 10.7% 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.
The one thing Espaly-Saint-Marcel does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Espaly-Saint-Marcel 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 4 historic monuments in Espaly-Saint-Marcel, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 11th century; the first monument here was protected in 1962.
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Espaly-Saint-Marcel. Best known first.
AttractionCathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy-en-Velay1.5 km east, in Le Puy-en-Velay
MuseumMusée Crozatier1.7 km southeast, in Le Puy-en-Velay
Historic houseHôtel de Girardin et de Luzy1.5 km east, in Le Puy-en-VelayMonastery or conventMonastery or conventCouvent de la Visitation du Puy-en-Velay1.4 km east, in Le Puy-en-VelayFortFortTour Pannessac1.2 km east, in Le Puy-en-VelayPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Espaly-Saint-Marcel.
Public transport took 2.3% of Espaly-Saint-Marcel’s working residents to work at the census. The unemployment rate comes to 10.7%. At the census, 3.3% of working residents in Espaly-Saint-Marcel didn’t travel to work at all.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
124 sales of houses and apartments in Espaly-Saint-Marcel, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,646/m². Houses sell for €1,719/m² in the town, apartments for €1,435/m². Also worth knowing: of the homes sold, 56% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,719/m² | 69 |
| Apartments | €1,435/m² | 55 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Women in Haute-Loire live to 85.7 on average and men to 80 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. From 2016 to 2025, 388 residents of Espaly-Saint-Marcel died, against 429 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 10% fewer. There are 2 general practitioners locally.
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 · Note: TownRatings models the care-home adjustment; it is not an official figure.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Espaly-Saint-Marcel, 95.9% passed the bac, near Haute-Loire’s towns (95.3%) and higher than compared French towns (92.9%). Its schools’ results rank #6 of 19 in Haute-Loire. The closest collège is 0.8 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Saint-Jacques de Compostelle - site Saint-Joseph PrivateNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 45 | 93%±0 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent privé Saint-Jacques de Compostelle PrivateNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 70 | 96%−1 pt |
| Collège Saint-Louis PrivateBest against expectations: 8 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 82 | 100%+8 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
All told, Espaly-Saint-Marcel had 41 recorded offenses in 2025. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 9.2 violent offenses and 7.8 graded property crimes a year. Among the graded crimes locally, the most frequent was family violence (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 · For other physical violence, sexual violence, 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, 9.8% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 11th century. Homes from before 1919 make up 7.8% of the total, lower than Haute-Loire’s towns (11%) and near compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Children under 15 make up 15%, about level with Haute-Loire’s towns (16%) and below compared French towns (17%). People 65 and over make up 25% of the town. The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel | Haute-Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 18% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 22% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 27% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Espaly-Saint-Marcel, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
One notable person was born in Espaly-Saint-Marcel.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel | 3,585 | — | A+ | A− | B+ | A− |
| Le Puy-en-Velay | 18,540 | 1.3 | B | A− | D | C |
| Vals-près-le-Puy | 3,395 | 1.3 | A+ | A− | A | A− |
| Polignac | 2,819 | 1.7 | — | B+ | — | B |
| Chadrac | 2,542 | 1.9 | — | B | — | A− |
| Brives-Charensac | 4,244 | 2.8 | A | A− | B+ | B |
| Coubon | 3,140 | 3.9 | — | A− | — | C+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B+ for safety, #10 of 15 in Haute-Loire.
They grade A−, better than 77% of compared French towns and #6 of 19 in Haute-Loire. 96% of 70 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent privé Saint-Jacques de Compostelle in 2025, a point below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,646/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Espaly-Saint-Marcel grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Espaly-Saint-Marcel is a commune of 3,585 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
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.