Pontcharra grades B+ overall: better than 70% of compared French towns, and #28 of 96 in Isère. Its weakest subject is safety (C): an average of 8.6 recorded violent incidents and 17.8 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 €3,030/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan. Its strongest is walkability (A−): 67% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% 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 Pontcharra 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 Pontcharra.
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
21.3% of commuters in Pontcharra go to work without a car, more than in Isère’s towns and across compared French towns
Per resident in work, Pontcharra counts 0.9 jobs (3,050 jobs, 3,250 workers). Public transport took 12.4% of the town’s working residents to work at the census. At the census, 5.7% of working residents in Pontcharra didn’t travel to work at all.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving72%
Public transport12%
On foot6%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,050
jobs based in Pontcharra, 0.9 per working resident
8.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,190
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
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
Schools
94.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 2 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Pontcharra, 99.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, above Isère’s towns (93.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. Ranked by results, schools here are #22 of 102 in Isère.
99%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Pontcharra ranks above 71% of compared French towns for crime per resident
In 2025, 173 offenses were recorded in Pontcharra. Of the graded crimes locally, criminal damage came up most often (2025). Police and gendarmerie recorded 173 offenses in the graded categories in the town in 2025.
8.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage80
Burglary21
Theft from vehicles19
Other physical violence18
Family violence13
Vehicle theft13
Sexual violence9
Drug use75
Theft without violence68
Fraud52
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.
8.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
173
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
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 · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HousingCost of living C+
Pontcharra earns a C+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
248 sales of houses and apartments in Pontcharra, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €3,030/m². Houses in Pontcharra sell for €3,130/m² and apartments for €2,952/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €13.70/m² a month, close to Isère’s towns (€13.13/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€3,030/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pontcharra€3,030/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Isère median€2,716/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,130/m²
133
Apartments
€2,952/m²
115
€13.70/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.73 to €17.50/m² a month)
6.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.98/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€31,390
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B
Pontcharra has a lower adjusted death rate than 60% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
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. 662 deaths in Pontcharra between 2016 and 2025, close to the 665 that France’s rates at each age predict. Its two care homes for older people (118 places) count their residents as Pontcharra’s; allowing for them, deaths were 15% below expected. The nearest emergency department to Pontcharra is Hopital Prive Medipole de Savoie, 8.2 mi away.
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw100
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
10
GPs in Pontcharra · 4.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive Medipole de Savoie
10.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Metropole Savoie site Chambery Mco
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.
Homes from before 1919 make up 6% of the total, lower than both Isère’s towns (8.7%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Among the classé monuments in Pontcharra is Château de Bayard (ruines). Its heritage reaches back to the 15th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for France
The 15-to-24 age group: 11%, about level with Isère’s towns (11%) and above compared French towns (11%). Pontcharra has a median age of 42.6 years. Children are 18% of the town.
42.6median age
PontcharraIsère medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
11%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education34%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Pontcharra
Is Pontcharra safe?
It grades C for safety, #55 of 96 in Isère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 21 burglaries and 80 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pontcharra good?
They grade A−, better than 80% of compared French towns and #22 of 102 in Isère. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pontcharra expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,030/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pontcharra grades C+ for cost of living.
About Pontcharra
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Pontcharra is a commune of 7,350 people in the Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan. 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.
