Grenoble grades C− overall: better than 19% of compared French towns, and #83 of 96 in Isère. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 13.7 recorded violent incidents and 50.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €2,524/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole. Its strongest is walkability (A+): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 64% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Grenoble 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 Grenoble.
Safety
Grenoble records more crime per resident than 100% of compared French towns
No compared town in Isère has more graded crime per resident than Grenoble: it ranks last of 96. Police and gendarmerie recorded 9,791 offenses in the graded categories in Grenoble in 2025. With 100,700 jobs for 69,100 working residents, Grenoble draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
13.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Theft from vehicles3,476
Criminal damage2,817
Other physical violence946
Family violence745
Burglary707
Vehicle theft544
Sexual violence458
Armed robbery98
Theft without violence4,182
Fraud1,455
Drug use1,085
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.
13.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
50.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
9,791
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income C
On foot, Grenoble works better than 99% of compared French towns
At the census, 63.7% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Isère’s towns (14.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%). 13.1% of the labour force are out of work.
64%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving32%
Public transport28%
Bicycle23%
On foot13%
Motorbike or scooter1%
100,700
jobs based in Grenoble, 1.5 per working resident
13.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,270
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than almost every compared French town
INSEE, census 2023 · Isère median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living C
Grenoble gets a C for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,524/m², comes from 7,404 sales of houses and apartments in Grenoble from July 2023 to June 2026. In Grenoble, houses go for €3,486/m² and apartments for €2,500/m².
€2,524/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Grenoble€2,524/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Isère median€2,716/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,486/m²
181
Apartments
€2,500/m²
7,223
€13.41/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.61 to €16.96/m² a month)
6.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.60/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,600
median annual income per consumption unit, Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B
Grenoble’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 56% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 11,546 residents of Grenoble died, against 12,404 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 7% fewer. Its 13 care homes for older people (963 places) count their residents as Grenoble’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw93
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
157
GPs in Grenoble · 4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Groupe hospitalier Mutualiste de Grenoble
0.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Groupe hospitalier Mutualiste de Grenoble
86.8 · 81.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Isère, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 37 historic monuments in Grenoble: 12 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 25 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2005.
Stendhal: Olof Johan Södermark, Public domain · Étienne Bonnot de Condillac: Pierre-Michel Alix / After Giuseppe Baldrighi, Public domain · Jacques Vaucanson: Joseph Boze, Public domain · Rafik Djebbour: Imad-panenka, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Adolphe Alphand: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Antoine Barnave: Joseph Boze, Public domain
Grenoble’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 Grenoble
Is Grenoble safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 707 burglaries and 2,817 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Grenoble good?
They grade C+, better than 42% of compared French towns and #56 of 102 in Isère. The lycée stands out: 91% of 237 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Emmanuel Mounier 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 Grenoble expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €13.41/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Grenoble grades C for cost of living.
About Grenoble
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Grenoble is a commune of 156,140 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
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.
