Good value, with catches elsewhere. Prices are modest for what you get (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health lags: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 6% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. It also trails on walkability (C−): 2% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 5% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at B, #13 of 22 in Loir-et-Cher. Nationally, it does better than 56% of compared French towns.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023.
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 Villefranche-sur-Cher 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.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Villefranche-sur-Cher: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level).
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century; the first monument here was protected in 1926.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Antoine Normant, born in 1784, is the one person born in Villefranche-sur-Cher before 1900 that Wikidata records.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Villefranche-sur-Cher: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Villefranche-sur-Cher.
HealthHealth D
Mortality in Villefranche-sur-Cher, once ages and care homes are allowed for, tops Loir-et-Cher’s towns and compared French towns: 106 per 100 expected
+6%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
2 GPs practise in Villefranche-sur-Cher. In Loir-et-Cher, women can expect to live 85.2 years and men 80.5 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 274 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 259: 6% above.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted106
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Villefranche-sur-Cher · 2.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
4.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Romorantin Lanthenay
4.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch Romorantin Lanthenay
85.2 · 80.5
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loir-et-Cher, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Only 4.9% of commuters in Villefranche-sur-Cher go to work without a car, fewer than in Loir-et-Cher’s towns and compared French towns
5%walk, cycle or take transit
Jobs located in Villefranche-sur-Cher: 450, for 1,100 residents in work (0.4 each). 8.6% of the labour force are out of work. Public transport took 2.1% of the town’s working residents to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving92%
Public transport2%
Bicycle2%
On foot1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
450
jobs based in Villefranche-sur-Cher, 0.4 per working resident
8.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,430
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 19% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Villefranche-sur-Cher records less crime per resident than three in four compared French towns
3.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA−Safety Grade
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 3.9 violent offenses and 12.4 graded property crimes a year. 23 offenses were reported in Villefranche-sur-Cher during 2025. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage12
Burglary11
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence12
Fraud11
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.
3.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
16.5%
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 family violence, 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, 16.5% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Villefranche-sur-Cher than in Loir-et-Cher’s towns or across compared French towns: 17% of adults
50.5median age
15% are under 15, about level with Loir-et-Cher’s towns (15%) and below compared French towns (17%). Those 65 and older account for 28% of residents. The 15-to-24 age group makes up nearly one in ten residents.
Villefranche-sur-CherLoir-et-Cher medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP34%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education17%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Loir-et-Cher 52.4%, France 51.8%.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Villefranche-sur-Cher: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 2 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments here is Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. The oldest protected building goes back to the 12th century. Before 1919: that is when 13% of homes were built.
Villefranche-sur-Cher is a commune of 2,678 people in the Communauté de communes du Romorantinais et du Monestois. 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
Population
2,678 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes du Romorantinais et du Monestois
Département
Loir-et-Cher (41)
Région
Centre-Val de Loire
Area
10.5 sq mi (27.2 km²)
INSEE code
41280
Villefranche-sur-Cher’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 Villefranche-sur-Cher
Is Villefranche-sur-Cher safe?
It grades A− for safety, #3 of 22 in Loir-et-Cher. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 11 burglaries and 12 acts of criminal damage.
Is Villefranche-sur-Cher expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,273/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Villefranche-sur-Cher grades A for cost of living.
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.
