Tence’s strongest is schools (A+) — brevet results 9 points above the expected rate. Add cost of living to its strengths — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Where it falls short is health (C) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 6% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Holiday and other second homes account for 19% of homes.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). Tence has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Tence 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 Tence.
Schools
Exam results around Tence beat 100% of compared French towns
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Its schools’ results rank #1 of 19 in Haute-Loire. The brevet pass rate near Tence is 100.0%, higher than both Haute-Loire’s towns (94.6%) and compared French towns (87.5%). There is no general lycée within 5 km; one lies 8.5 mi away.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Tence than in Haute-Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.15/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
At the median, a home went for €1,527/m², lower than both Haute-Loire’s towns (€1,646/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Houses made up 86% of the homes sold; apartments the rest. Sales in Tence from July 2023 to June 2026: 95 houses and apartments.
€1,527/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Tence€1,527/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Loire median€1,646/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,616/m²
82
€8.15/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.14 to €10.82/m² a month)
4.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.13/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,450
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Haut-Lignon
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Tence than in Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 13% are under 15
The 15-to-24 age group: 9.8%, lower than both Haute-Loire’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). People 65 and over make up 29% of the town. Ages in Tence split evenly at 51.6: half are older, half younger.
51.6median age
TenceHaute-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education24%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. 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
HealthHealth C
Tence sees 94 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Haute-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Haute-Loire, women can expect to live 85.7 years and men 80 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 455 deaths in Tence between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 397: 14% above. The nearest emergency department to Tence is Centre hospitalier de Firminy, 18.8 mi away. There are 3 general practitioners locally.
−6%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw114
Adjusted94
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Tence · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
18.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Firminy
18.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Firminy
85.7 · 80
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haute-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Tence keeps more of its old housing than Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 18% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry’s list holds 4 historic monuments in Tence; none is classé, France’s top protection. Its oldest listed monument dates from prehistory.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
Tence has lower unemployment than Haute-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 6.7%
Per resident in work, Tence counts 1 jobs (1,250 jobs, 1,350 workers). After tax and benefits, the median income is €24,840 a year per consumption unit. Bus, tram or train carried 3.6% of working residents in Tence to work at the census.
13%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving80%
On foot8%
Public transport4%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
1,250
jobs based in Tence, 1 per working resident
6.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,840
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 51% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Tence has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 1.6 violent offenses and 8 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. Recorded offenses in Tence came to 36 in 2025. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was burglary (2025).
1.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary28
Criminal damage8
Armed robbery0
Fraud13
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.
1.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
36
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
28.9%
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 family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, 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 (28.9% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Château du Besset and 5 more in and around Tence
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Tence. Best known first.
Croix-menhir de Mendigoules: Photo: Christian Pinatel de Salvator · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château du Besset: Photo: Sdo216 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chapelle des Pénitents: Photo: FredSeiller · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Tence
Is Tence safe?
Tence has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 28 burglaries and 8 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Tence good?
They grade A+, better than 100% of compared French towns and #1 of 19 in Haute-Loire. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Tence expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Tence grades A for cost of living.
About Tence
Commune in Haute-Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Tence is a commune of 3,111 people in the Communauté de communes du Haut-Lignon. 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.
