Saint-Chef grades A+ overall: better than 97% of compared French towns, and #3 of 96 in Isère. Its weakest subject is walkability (C): 48% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 8% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €2,593/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Les Balcons du Dauphiné. Its strongest is schools (A+): brevet results 5 points above the expected rate.
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 Saint-Chef 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
HealthHealth A
Saint-Chef loses fewer people than its age profile suggests, 69 per 100 expected, below Isère’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 352 deaths in Saint-Chef from 2016 to 2025; there were 360, 2% more. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Chef is Ch Pierre Oudot Bourgoin Jallieu, 6.6 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Chef can choose among 2 GPs. Life expectancy at birth in Isère is 86.8 years for women and 81.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−31%deaths against expected, after care homesAHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted69
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Saint-Chef · 2.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Pierre Oudot Bourgoin Jallieu
6.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Saint Vincent de Paul Maternite
86.8 · 81.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Isère, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Crime per resident in Saint-Chef runs lower than in 77% of compared French towns
2025 saw 56 offenses recorded in Saint-Chef. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 5 violent offenses and 11.1 graded property crimes a year. The commonest graded crime here was burglary (2025).
5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary22
Family violence21
Criminal damage13
Armed robbery0
Fraud30
Theft without violence10
Drug use0
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.
5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
11.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
56
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
14.2%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 14.2% of the index here. As that share tops 10%, this Safety Grade carries more doubt than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Work & commuteJobs & income A−
Unemployment in Saint-Chef, 6.1%, runs below Isère’s towns and compared French towns
Jobs located in Saint-Chef: 950, for 2,000 residents in work (0.5 each). Households’ median disposable income: €29,010 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 8.1% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Isère’s towns (14.1%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving88%
On foot4%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
950
jobs based in Saint-Chef, 0.5 per working resident
6.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€29,010
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C
Walkability: better than 30% of compared French towns
INSEE, census 2023 · Isère median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Old homes shape Saint-Chef: 21% were built before 1919, more than in Isère’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Saint-Chef is Église Saint-Theudère. Its heritage reaches back to the 12th century. On the Culture ministry’s list, Saint-Chef counts 3 historic monuments: 1 classé at the top level of protection and 2 inscrit at the second.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B−
Saint-Chef earns a B− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €11.84/m² a month, below Isère’s towns (€13.13/m²) and close to compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €2,593/m², comes from 83 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Chef from July 2023 to June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €12.88/m² a month.
€2,593/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Chef€2,593/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Isère median€2,716/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,754/m²
74
€11.84/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.56 to €14.66/m² a month)
6.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.88/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,970
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Les Balcons du Dauphiné
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Chef
Is Saint-Chef safe?
It grades A− for safety, #12 of 96 in Isère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 13 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Chef good?
They grade A+, better than 97% of compared French towns and #1 of 102 in Isère. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Chef 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. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Chef grades B− for cost of living.
About Saint-Chef
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Chef is a commune of 3,921 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.
