Saint-Paulien’s strongest is cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Jobs and pay hold up well: 0.9 jobs per working resident; 7.4% unemployment. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 4% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The median sale price is €1,600/m².
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Saint-Paulien 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 Saint-Paulien 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 Saint-Paulien.
HousingCost of living A
For cost of living, Saint-Paulien gets an A
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €8.97/m² a month, near Haute-Loire’s towns (€8.91/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses were 97% of what sold. House rents are put at about €8.01/m² a month.
€1,600/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Paulien€1,600/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,600/m²
67
€8.97/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.95 to €11.58/m² a month)
4.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.01/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
HealthHealth C
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Paulien sees more deaths than 72% of compared French towns
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. Adjusted mortality in Saint-Paulien: 96 deaths for every 100 expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 304 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 357, 17% more. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Paulien is Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay, 6.3 mi away.
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw117
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Saint-Paulien · 2.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier du Puy En Velay
6.3 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
Few people in Saint-Paulien are 15 to 24: 8.3%, fewer than in Haute-Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
Those 65 and older account for 27% of residents. 16% are under 15, near Haute-Loire’s towns (16%) and lower than compared French towns (17%). The middle age in Saint-Paulien is 48.7.
48.7median age
Saint-PaulienHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education28%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 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
Old homes shape Saint-Paulien: 20% 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 Saint-Paulien is Mosaïque gallo-romaine. The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in the town: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). Since 1999, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. The earliest of these monuments dates from Antiquity.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Unemployment in Saint-Paulien, 7.4%, runs below Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Nearly one in ten commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census. The median disposable income was €25,450 a year per consumption unit, about level with both Haute-Loire’s towns (€25,730) and compared French towns (€25,970).
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
On foot7%
Public transport1%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
950
jobs based in Saint-Paulien, 0.9 per working resident
7.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,450
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 50% of compared French towns
Église Saint-Georges: Photo: EmDee · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chapelle Saint-Joseph: Photo: Gmbgreg2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Château de la Roche-Lambert: Photo: Torsade de Pointes · Public domain
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Paulien
Is Saint-Paulien safe?
Saint-Paulien has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.9 recorded violent incidents and 5.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Saint-Paulien expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Paulien grades A for cost of living.
About Saint-Paulien
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Paulien is a commune of 2,439 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.
