Retournac grades A overall, better than 95% of compared French towns, and ranks #6 of 15 in Haute-Loire. Homes are affordable: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Safety is another plus — an average of 4.3 recorded violent incidents and 8.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. The catch is jobs & income — 0.5 jobs per working resident; 10.9% unemployment. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for health and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 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 Retournac 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 Retournac.
HousingCost of living A
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Retournac than in Haute-Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: €7.94/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Homes sold for a median €1,474/m², below Haute-Loire’s towns (€1,646/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Houses accounted for 94% of sales, apartments for the rest. The market in Retournac: 107 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€1,474/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Retournac€1,474/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,556/m²
101
€7.94/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.04 to €10.44/m² a month)
4.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.54/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,320
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Sucs
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is lower in Retournac than in 92% of compared French towns
Retournac’s tally for 2025: 50 recorded offenses. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
4.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearASafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage24
Family violence16
Sexual violence10
Fraud20
Theft without violence11
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.
4.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
50
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
23.0%
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 other physical violence, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (23.0% of the index here). As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
92.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 4 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
By results, schools here place #2 of 19 in Haute-Loire. The nearest general lycée is 6.5 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Retournac are 65 or over, more than in Haute-Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
Degrees are held by 23% of adults. 9% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Haute-Loire’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Line up the people of Retournac by age and the one in the middle is 51.1.
51.1median age
RetournacHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education23%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Old homes shape Retournac: 19% were built before 1919, more than in Haute-Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Retournac is Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The protected list starts in the 12th century. The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments locally: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
Fewer deaths than expected: Retournac is below 52% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Haute-Loire: 85.7 years for women, 80 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. Its care home for older people (85 places) counts its residents as Retournac’s; allowing for it, deaths were 13% below expected. 466 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 438: 6% above. The nearest emergency department to Retournac is Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay, 13.3 mi away.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Retournac · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
13.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay
13.3 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
Money is tighter in Retournac than in Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €23,890 a year per consumption unit
At the census, 9.4% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, near Haute-Loire’s towns (9.7%) and lower than compared French towns (13.4%). The jobless rate is 10.9%.
9%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot6%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
600
jobs based in Retournac, 0.5 per working resident
10.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,890
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 49% of compared French towns
Château d'Artias: Photo: Torsade de Pointes · Public domain · Château de Chabanoles: Photo: Vermeer&Velazquez · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château de Mercuret: Photo: Torsade de Pointes · Public domain · Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste: Photo: Torsade de Pointes · Public domain
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Retournac
Is Retournac safe?
It grades A for safety, #6 of 15 in Haute-Loire.
Are schools in Retournac good?
They grade A, better than 89% of compared French towns and #2 of 19 in Haute-Loire. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Retournac expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Retournac grades A for cost of living.
About Retournac
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Retournac is a commune of 3,007 people in the Communauté de communes des Sucs. 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.
