Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,911 in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Balbigny grades B overall: better than 64% of compared French towns, and #35 of 48 in Loire. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (C): 0.9 jobs per working resident; 9.7% unemployment. At the median price of €1,767/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes de Forez-Est. Its strongest is safety (A): an average of 2 recorded violent incidents and 10.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The one thing Balbigny does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Balbigny 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 →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Balbigny as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Pont sur l'Aix, in Pommiers-en-Forez, 6 mi away.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Balbigny.
Police and gendarmerie recorded 40 offenses in the graded categories in Balbigny in 2025. Balbigny comes 3rd of the 48 compared towns in Loire on the Safety Grade. For family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence 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, 23.9% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
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
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Near Balbigny, 79.0% of lycée candidates passed the bac, below both Loire’s towns (93.4%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Michel de MontaigneNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 105 | 90%±0 pts |
| Lycée professionnel Pierre CotonNearest lycéeVocational lycée | Vocational lycée | 24 | 79%−9 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
For Balbigny, that is below both Loire’s towns (28%) and compared French towns (30%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 12% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Balbigny | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 26% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 27% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 20% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €1,767/m², close to Loire’s towns (€2,075/m²) and below compared French towns (€2,430/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,759/m² | 76 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Balbigny sits above both Loire’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88) on this measure. The nearest emergency department to Balbigny is Hopitaux Nord Ouest de Tarare, 12.8 mi away. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
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
That puts Balbigny below both Loire’s towns (€25,635) and compared French towns (€25,970).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage and other places to visit in and near Balbigny. Best known first.
Nothing in Balbigny is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Balbigny.
Alice Taverne: Unknown author Unknown author, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balbigny | 2,911 | — | B | B | A | C+ |
| Feurs | 8,367 | 5.6 | A− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Panissières | 2,911 | 7.4 | — | A+ | — | B+ |
| Boën-sur-Lignon | 3,001 | 10 | B | A+ | C− | C− |
| Montrond-les-Bains | 5,652 | 13 | A | B− | B+ | A− |
| Amplepuis Rhône | 4,876 | 13 | A− | A | C | B− |
| Tarare Rhône | 10,893 | 13 | B+ | B+ | C | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A for safety, #3 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 8 burglaries and 18 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 32% of compared French towns and #47 of 50 in Loire. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €11.57/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Balbigny grades B for cost of living.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Balbigny is a commune of 2,911 people in the Communauté de communes de Forez-Est. 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.
