Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A): 66% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 23% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. It is strong on cost of living as well (B+) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its schools fall short: brevet results 22 points below the expected rate. Jobs and pay trail most towns: 1.1 jobs per working resident; 12.7% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education. Serres 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 Serres 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 36% of people in Serres are 65 or over, more than in Hautes-Alpes’ towns and across compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 10%, below both Hautes-Alpes’ towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 6.4% of the town. Typical age in Serres: 57, the median.
57median age
SerresHautes-Alpes medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
36%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education23%
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 83 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hautes-Alpes 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Hautes-Alpes median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
A walkable place: Serres beats 86% of compared French towns on foot
Households’ median disposable income: €22,240 a year per consumption unit. 12.7% of the labour force were unemployed, above both Hautes-Alpes’ towns (10.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Public transport took 4.6% of Serres’ working residents to work at the census.
23%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving67%
On foot17%
Public transport5%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
500
jobs based in Serres, 1.1 per working resident
12.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,240
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 86% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C−
Serres is 19.5 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its care home for older people (66 places) counts its residents as Serres’; allowing for it, deaths were 1% below expected. This Hautes-Alpes town has 4 family doctors. Life expectancy in Hautes-Alpes: 86.1 years for women and 80.7 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. Also worth knowing: 335 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 271: 24% above.
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw124
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Serres · 2.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
19.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chi des Alpes du Sud site de Sisteron
19.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chi des Alpes du Sud site de Gap
86.1 · 80.7
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hautes-Alpes, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Buying in Serres costs less than in Hautes-Alpes’ towns and across compared French towns: the median sale is €1,525/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.82/m² a month, below Hautes-Alpes’ towns (€12.78/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 62 homes in Serres. Estimated advertised rent for houses: €9.99/m² a month.
€1,525/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Serres€1,525/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hautes-Alpes median€2,775/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,744/m²
43
€9.82/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.93 to €12.16/m² a month)
4.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.99/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,390
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Sisteronais-Buëch
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Serres: 21% were built before 1919, more than in Hautes-Alpes’ towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Serres is Maison dite de Lesdiguières. Its heritage reaches back to the 11th century. A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 1989. This Hautes-Alpes town has 4 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 2 classé, the highest protection, and 2 inscrit, the second level.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Serres
Is Serres safe?
Serres has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.8 recorded violent incidents and 12.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Are schools in Serres good?
They grade D−, better than 0% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Serres expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Serres grades B+ for cost of living.
About Serres
Commune in Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Serres is a commune of 1,298 people in the Communauté de communes du Sisteronais-Buëch. 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.
