Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,700 in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Over-65s are 29% of the population.
The picture is mixed. Safety lags: an average of 13.8 recorded violent incidents and 15.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With a C+ overall, Saint-Marcellin is better than 35% of compared French towns. That places it #66 of 96 in Isère. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 84% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 28% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €1,944/m²: 70 m² comes to 5.2 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes Saint-Marcellin Vercors Isère Communauté.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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 3 things Saint-Marcellin does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Marcellin 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 →
Saint-Marcellin has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1926.
Wikidata records 9 people born in Saint-Marcellin before 1900, the earliest Aymar du Rivail, in 1491.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Marcellin.
Saint-Marcellin holds 4,000 jobs; 2,950 of its residents are in work, so 1.4 jobs each. The unemployment rate comes to 13.5%. Also worth knowing: the median disposable income was €23,410 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Isère’s towns (€27,110) and compared French towns (€25,970).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
More of the graded crimes in Saint-Marcellin were criminal damage than anything else (2025). In all, 229 offenses reached the police record in the town in 2025.
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 · 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.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Its collèges and lycées rank #76 of 102 in Isère on results. The bac pass rate near Saint-Marcellin is 94.1%, near both Isère’s towns (93.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège le SavouretNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 130 | 82%−4 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent La SaulaieNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 219 | 95%−2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
29% of residents are 65 or over. Saint-Marcellin has a median age of 50.5.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Saint-Marcellin | Isère median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 23% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 29% | 21% | 22% |
| No diploma | 24% | 19% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 24% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 28% | 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.
352 sales of houses and apartments in Saint-Marcellin, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,944/m². Apartments in Saint-Marcellin sell for €1,803/m², houses for €2,319/m². Among the homes sold, 28% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,319/m² | 99 |
| Apartments | €1,803/m² | 253 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century. 9.1% of homes were built before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Isère: 86.8 years for women and 81.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. There are 11 general practitioners in Saint-Marcellin. Its two care homes for older people (130 places) count their residents as Saint-Marcellin’s; allowing for them, deaths were 14% below expected. 996 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,027: 3% below.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
Heritage, family days out and other places to visit in and near Saint-Marcellin. Best known first.
The list names few of Saint-Marcellin’s 2 monuments; beside them, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
16 notable people were born in Saint-Marcellin.
François Delattre: Clergier, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Antoine Brenier de Montmorand: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · André Cottavoz: FlorentJacques, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Guy Joseph François Thimoléon d'Auberjon de Murinais: Jean Michel Moreau, le Jeune, Wilbrode Nicolas Magloire Courbe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Louis Riondel: Franck, Public domain · Victor Simond: Gerschel, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcellin | 7,700 | — | C+ | B | C− | B− |
| Chatte | 2,518 | 1.9 | B | B | B− | B |
| Vinay | 4,438 | 6 | A+ | B+ | A− | B− |
| Saint-Jean-en-Royans Drôme | 2,874 | 9.3 | B | B+ | A | C |
| Autrans-Méaudre en Vercors | 2,936 | 10 | — | B− | — | A− |
| Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux | 3,186 | 13 | D | B | C | C+ |
| Villard-de-Lans | 4,328 | 13 | A+ | C− | A− | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety, #61 of 96 in Isère. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 32 burglaries and 63 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 27% of compared French towns and #76 of 102 in Isère. 95% of 219 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent La Saulaie 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 €1,944/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Marcellin grades B for cost of living.
Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Marcellin is a commune of 7,700 people in the Communauté de communes Saint-Marcellin Vercors Isère Communauté. 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.