Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 1,846: a town in Haute-Saône, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Prices are modest for what you get: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health is a weak point: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 32% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Its schools fall short: brevet results 6 points below the expected rate. It also trails on walkability — 29% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 8% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Plancher-Bas 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.
The one thing Plancher-Bas does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Plancher-Bas 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.
Plancher-Bas has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Plancher-Bas as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Croix de mission, in Fresse, 4.4 mi away.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Plancher-Bas.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 124 deaths in Plancher-Bas from 2016 to 2025; there were 163, 32% more. The nearest emergency department to Plancher-Bas is Gh Haute Saone site Lure, 11.2 mi away. At birth, a girl in Haute-Saône can expect 84.7 years and a boy 78.6 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
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 · That adjustment for care homes is a model of TownRatings’ own, not official data.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Plancher-Bas, 83.0% of collège pupils passed the brevet, near Haute-Saône’s towns (82.8%) and lower than compared French towns (87.5%). The closest lycée for the general bac is 7.6 mi off. The nearest collège is 2.9 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Victor SchoelcherNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 112 | 83%−6 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.59/m² a month, higher than Haute-Saône’s towns (€8.86/m²) yet lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses accounted for 94% of sales, apartments for the rest. The market in Plancher-Bas: 51 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,372/m² | 48 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
8.4% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Haute-Saône’s towns (11.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Plancher-Bas has 350 jobs for 800 working residents, 0.4 per worker. Households’ median disposable income: €25,890 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Children under 15 make up 17%, about level with compared French towns (17%) and above Haute-Saône’s towns (15%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 9.8%. Among adults, 26% have a degree.
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%.
| Plancher-Bas | Haute-Saône median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 24% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 25% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 32% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Saône median and France median: the median of compared communes
Museums and other places to visit in and near Plancher-Bas. Best known first.
MuseumMaison de la Négritude4.2 km southwest, in ChampagneyAttractionAttractionCalvaire4.6 km north, in Plancher-les-MinesMuseumMuseumMusée de la Fête Foraine3.8 km north, in Plancher-les-MinesPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in Plancher-Bas is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Plancher-Bas.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plancher-Bas | 1,846 | — | — | A | — | D− |
| Champagney | 3,647 | 3.1 | B | A | A+ | C− |
| Giromagny Territoire de Belfort | 2,907 | 4.4 | C+ | A | B− | C |
| Ronchamp | 2,737 | 4.9 | C+ | A+ | A− | D |
| Valdoie Territoire de Belfort | 5,175 | 6.4 | C+ | B− | A− | C+ |
| Essert Territoire de Belfort | 3,417 | 7.4 | B+ | C+ | A | B+ |
| Offemont Territoire de Belfort | 4,051 | 7.8 | C+ | B− | A | C− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Plancher-Bas has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2 recorded violent incidents and 3.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade D, better than 11% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Plancher-Bas grades A for cost of living.
Commune in Haute-Saône, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Plancher-Bas is a commune of 1,846 people in the Communauté de communes Rahin et Chérimont. 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.