Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. Where it does best is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Crime runs high (C−): an average of 14.4 recorded violent incidents and 14.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Jobs & income is weaker too: 2.1 jobs per working resident; 15.5% unemployment. The overall grade comes out at A−, #10 of 19 in Haute-Vienne. Set against the rest, it does better than 78% of compared French towns.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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.
Each subject compares Bellac 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 Bellac.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Bellac: 39% are 65 or over, above Haute-Vienne’s towns and compared French towns
Under 15: just over one in ten residents. People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, near Haute-Vienne’s towns (9.2%) and lower than compared French towns (11%). 18% of adults hold a degree.
58.2median age
BellacHaute-Vienne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
39%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education18%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Vienne 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Vienne median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living A
Renting in Bellac costs less than in Haute-Vienne’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.02/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €919/m², below Haute-Vienne’s towns (€1,607/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. No town in Haute-Vienne costs less to buy into than Bellac, at €919/m², the lowest of 23. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 144 homes in the town.
€919/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bellac€919/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Vienne median€1,607/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€939/m²
137
€8.02/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.23 to €10.31/m² a month)
2.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.99/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€22,160
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Haut Limousin en Marche
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Bellac has higher unemployment than Haute-Vienne’s towns or compared French towns: 15.5%
Walking, cycling and public transport carried nearly a quarter of commuters at the census. Half of residents lived on more than €21,700 a year per consumption unit, below Haute-Vienne’s towns (€25,970) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. At the census, 8.4% of working residents in Bellac didn’t travel to work at all.
24%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot20%
Public transport2%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,250
jobs based in Bellac, 2.1 per working resident
15.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,700
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
8%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
For crime per resident, Bellac sits above 77% of compared French towns
Bellac comes 18th of the 19 compared towns in Haute-Vienne on the Safety Grade. The police record for Bellac lists 97 offenses in 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in Bellac (2,250 to 1,050): it draws people in from around. Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in Bellac (2025).
14.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage46
Other physical violence24
Family violence17
Sexual violence10
Armed robbery0
Fraud21
Theft without violence12
Drug use6
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.
14.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
97
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
4.3%
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 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 (4.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
HealthHealth B+
Bellac is 17.7 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (215 places) count their residents as Bellac’s; allowing for them, deaths were 20% below expected. 5 GPs practise here. In Haute-Vienne, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.4 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 754 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 800, 6% more.
−20%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted80
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Bellac · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
17.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Saint Junien
17.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Saint Junien
84.4 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haute-Vienne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Bellac: 18% were built before 1919, more than in Haute-Vienne’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 12th century. Bellac has 3 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
Jean Giraudoux: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain · Agnès Clancier: FR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marcel Roux: Eugène Claudius Petit, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Georges Berry: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain
Bellac’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bellac
Are schools in Bellac good?
They grade B, better than 63% of compared French towns and #2 of 17 in Haute-Vienne. The lycée stands out: 97% of 92 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Jean Giraudoux in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bellac expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bellac grades A for cost of living.
About Bellac
Commune in Haute-Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bellac is a commune of 3,537 people in the Communauté de communes Haut Limousin en Marche. 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.
