Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Boën-sur-Lignon’s overall grade, B, puts it better than 64% of compared French towns. Its place in the ranking is #34 of 48 in Loire. Prices are modest for what you get: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also does well on schools: bac results a point above the expected rate; brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Crime runs high: an average of 12 recorded violent incidents and 17 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Boën-sur-Lignon 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 Boën-sur-Lignon.
HousingCost of living A+
Homes in Boën-sur-Lignon cost less than in Loire’s towns or across compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,243/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Apartments in Boën-sur-Lignon sell for €1,061/m², houses for €1,429/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €8.49/m² a month, lower than both Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Estimated advertised rent for houses: €7.88/m² a month.
€1,243/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Boën-sur-Lignon€1,243/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,429/m²
98
Apartments
€1,061/m²
40
€8.49/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.62 to €10.90/m² a month)
3.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.88/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,420
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Loire Forez Agglomération
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
95.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 2 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Boën-sur-Lignon is 99.0%, above both Loire’s towns (93.4%) and compared French towns (92.9%). On school results, the town ranks #4 of 50 in Loire.
99%passed the bac (general and technological)ASchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Boën-sur-Lignon skews older, with 35% of residents 65 or over, more than Loire’s towns or compared French towns
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. 13% are under 15, lower than both Loire’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). At 55.3, the median resident of Boën-sur-Lignon sits in the middle of the age range.
55.3median age
Boën-sur-LignonLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
35%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma33%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat14%
Higher education17%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth C−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Boën-sur-Lignon run higher than in 84% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted mortality in Boën-sur-Lignon: 103 deaths for every 100 expected. 779 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 545: 43% above. The nearest emergency department to Boën-sur-Lignon is Ch du Forez site de Montbrison, 9.7 mi away. The town has 8 family doctors.
+3%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw143
Adjusted103
Median town88
Expected100
8
GPs in Boën-sur-Lignon · 2.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch du Forez site de Montbrison
9.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch du Forez site de Montbrison
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Boën-sur-Lignon sees more crime per resident than 78% of compared French towns
More of the graded crimes in Boën-sur-Lignon were criminal damage than anything else (2025). All told, Boën-sur-Lignon had 104 recorded offenses in 2025. This Loire town has 1,400 jobs for 950 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work.
12recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage46
Family violence18
Other physical violence15
Sexual violence14
Theft from vehicles6
Burglary5
Armed robbery0
Fraud29
Drug use22
Theft without violence15
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.
12
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
104
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
4.8%
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 · When vehicle theft number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (4.8% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
More people in Boën-sur-Lignon are out of work than in Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: 14.7%
The median disposable income is €22,830 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 3.7% of working residents in Boën-sur-Lignon didn’t travel to work at all. Just over a tenth of the town’s working residents walked, cycled or took public transport to work in the 2023 census, against 13% for the median of compared French towns; 84% drove.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
On foot8%
Public transport3%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,400
jobs based in Boën-sur-Lignon, 1.5 per working resident
14.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,830
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 72% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
1 historic monument in Boën-sur-Lignon, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Boën-sur-Lignon is Château-Chabert. The protected list starts in the 18th century. 12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Joseph Marie Terray: Alexandre Roslin (1718-1793)., Public domain · Alexandre Arquillière: Gir, Charles (1883-1941), dessinateur, Public domain · Gabriel Syveton: Charles Auguste Varsavaux, dit Waléry (1866-1935), Public domain
Boën-sur-Lignon’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 Boën-sur-Lignon
Is Boën-sur-Lignon safe?
It grades C− for safety, #39 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 5 burglaries and 46 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Boën-sur-Lignon good?
They grade A, better than 89% of compared French towns and #4 of 50 in Loire. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Boën-sur-Lignon expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Boën-sur-Lignon grades A+ for cost of living.
About Boën-sur-Lignon
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Boën-sur-Lignon is a commune of 3,001 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Loire Forez Agglomération. 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.
