The local economy does well: 1.3 jobs per working resident; 5.0% unemployment. It is hard to get around without a car (C−). Homes sell for a median €2,593/m²: 70 m² comes to 6.5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Les Balcons du Dauphiné. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 5% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025). La Balme-les-Grottes 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 La Balme-les-Grottes 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 La Balme-les-Grottes.
Who lives here
Children make up 21% of La Balme-les-Grottes, above Isère’s towns and compared French towns
28% of adults hold a degree. People 65 and over make up 16% of the town, below both Isère’s towns (21%) and compared French towns (22%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents.
39.5median age
La Balme-les-GrottesIsère medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
10%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma15%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education28%
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Isère median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income A+
La Balme-les-Grottes has lower unemployment than Isère’s towns or compared French towns: 5.0%
Half of residents lived on more than €27,930 a year per consumption unit, near Isère’s towns (€27,110) and higher than compared French towns (€25,970). The census found 7.0% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
On foot4%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
750
jobs based in La Balme-les-Grottes, 1.3 per working resident
5.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,930
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 22% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Fewer deaths than expected in La Balme-les-Grottes, 95 per 100, but more than in Isère’s towns and across compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to La Balme-les-Grottes is Hopital Prive D Amberieu, 9.1 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 62 residents of La Balme-les-Grottes died, against 65 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% 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.
−5%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw95
Adjusted95
Median town88
Expected100
0
GPs in La Balme-les-Grottes · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive D Amberieu
9.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive D Amberieu
86.8 · 81.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Isère, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,593/m², comes from 39 sales of houses and apartments in La Balme-les-Grottes from July 2023 to June 2026. Estimated advertised rent for houses: €11.39/m² a month. From July 2023 to June 2026, 39 homes were sold here.
€2,593/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Balme-les-Grottes€2,593/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Isère median€2,716/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,578/m²
32
€12.49/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.66 to €16.15/m² a month)
6.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.39/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,970
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Les Balcons du Dauphiné
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
La Balme-les-Grottes keeps more of its old housing than Isère’s towns or compared French towns: 24% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its heritage reaches back to the 13th century. La Balme-les-Grottes has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Balme-les-Grottes
Is La Balme-les-Grottes safe?
La Balme-les-Grottes has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 5.9 recorded violent incidents and 11.3 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With 750 jobs for 550 working residents, La Balme-les-Grottes draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
Is La Balme-les-Grottes expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,593/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.49/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so La Balme-les-Grottes grades C+ for cost of living.
About La Balme-les-Grottes
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
La Balme-les-Grottes is a commune of 1,146 people in the Communauté de communes Les Balcons du Dauphiné. 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.