Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has a population of 22,020.
A town of contrasts. Crime is the sore point (D): an average of 9.1 recorded violent incidents and 24.8 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: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 12.0% unemployment. It is easy to get around without a car (A+): 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 43% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,963/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole. Health is a strength (B+): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The overall grade lands at C, #70 of 96 in Isère. On that grade it does better than nearly a third of compared French towns.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The 2 things Fontaine does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Fontaine 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Fontaine as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Maison dite Casamaures, in Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, 1.5 mi away.
2.2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Fontaine. Best known first.
MuseumMusée de Grenoble3.4 km east, in Grenoble
AttractionBastille2.9 km east, in Grenoble
AttractionLa Casamaures2.3 km east, in Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux
MuseumMagasin-CNAC1.3 km southeast, in Grenoble
MuseumMusée de l'Ancien Evêché3.4 km east, in GrenoblePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fontaine.
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €23,220 a year per consumption unit. Unemployment stood at 12.0%, above Isère’s towns (8.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. At the census, 23.9% of working residents in Fontaine went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Police and gendarmerie figures for Fontaine show 847 offenses in 2025. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes in the town.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.1% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its three care homes for older people (242 places) count their residents as Fontaine’s; allowing for them, deaths were 19% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 1,945 residents of Fontaine died, against 2,182 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 11% fewer. In Isère, life expectancy at birth reaches 86.8 years for women and 81.6 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. Also worth knowing: for a family doctor, residents of Fontaine can choose among 20 GPs.
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 · The care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Fontaine, 92.7% passed the bac, about level with both Isère’s towns (93.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). School results put the town #59 of 102 in Isère.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jules VallèsNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 88 | 80%−4 pts |
| Lycée général et technologique Aristide BergèsNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 334 | 94%−2 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent privé Philippine Duchesne - site de La Tronche PrivateBest against expectations: 6 points above the expected rateVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 51 | 100%+6 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
The under-15s are 16% of the population here. Line up the people of Fontaine by age and the one in the middle is 42.2. People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, close to Isère’s towns (21%) and below compared French towns (22%).
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
| Fontaine | Isère median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 21% | 22% |
| No diploma | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 23% | 24% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 32% | 33% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Isère median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Fontaine: €3,253/m² for houses, €1,804/m² for apartments. The median price, €1,963/m², comes from 796 sales of houses and apartments in the town from July 2023 to June 2026. House rents are put at about €12.68/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,253/m² | 118 |
| Apartments | €1,804/m² | 678 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Fontaine is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
4 notable people were born in Fontaine.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontaine | 22,020 | — | C | B− | D | B+ |
| Seyssinet-Pariset | 11,739 | 1.1 | B− | C | C− | A |
| Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux | 6,078 | 1.5 | C+ | C− | D | A− |
| Sassenage | 11,646 | 1.7 | B− | C | C | B |
| Grenoble | 156,140 | 2 | C− | C | D− | B |
| Seyssins | 8,092 | 2.3 | B− | D | C− | A |
| Saint-Égrève | 17,986 | 2.7 | B− | C− | D | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #83 of 96 in Isère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 97 burglaries and 283 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 40% of compared French towns and #59 of 102 in Isère. 94% of 334 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique Aristide Bergès in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,963/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.70/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Fontaine grades B− for cost of living.
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Fontaine is a commune of 22,020 people in the Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole. 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 October 30, 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.