Little here grades badly. Bourg-Argental’s overall grade of A+ puts it better than 98% of compared French towns, #4 of 48 in Loire. Prices are modest for what you get: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its schools beat most: brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. The rest of its grades are middling: B for health and B− for jobs & income.
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) · employment, 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 Bourg-Argental 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 Bourg-Argental.
HousingCost of living A
Homes in Bourg-Argental cost less than in both Loire’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,472/m²
€1,472/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €8.27/m² a month, below both Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). From July 2023 to June 2026, 69 homes were sold in Bourg-Argental. Houses made up 70% of the homes sold; apartments the rest.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bourg-Argental€1,472/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,628/m²
48
€8.27/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.08 to €11.27/m² a month)
3.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.21/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,720
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes des Monts du Pilat
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Bourg-Argental has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.8 for each
14%walk, cycle or take transit
8.2% of the labour force were unemployed, about level with Loire’s towns (8.6%) and below compared French towns (10.1%). The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €25,090 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 3.9% of working residents in Bourg-Argental went to work by public transport.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving81%
On foot9%
Public transport4%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,050
jobs based in Bourg-Argental, 0.8 per working resident
8.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€25,090
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
Who lives here
Older residents shape Bourg-Argental: 28% are 65 or over, above Loire’s towns and compared French towns
49.3median age
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.6% of residents, below both Loire’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Bourg-Argental has a median age of 49.3 years. Among adults, 27% have a degree.
Bourg-ArgentalLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma21%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Per resident, Bourg-Argental sees less crime than 67% of compared French towns
7.8recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 7.8 cases of violence against people and 10.1 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). The 2025 count: 46 offenses in Bourg-Argental. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was burglary (2025).
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary19
Other physical violence11
Criminal damage9
Family violence7
Fraud10
Theft without violence9
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.
7.8
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
46
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
12.7%
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 sexual violence, armed robbery, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 12.7% of the index here. With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Bourg-Argental keeps more of its old housing than Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 21% built before 1919
1historic monument
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Bourg-Argental’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 58% of compared French towns
−15%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Bourg-Argental has 4 family doctors. Its care home for older people (123 places) counts its residents as Bourg-Argental’s; allowing for it, deaths were 15% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 423 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 474, 12% more. Life expectancy in Loire: 85.6 years for women and 80.8 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw112
Adjusted85
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Bourg-Argental · 2.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Ardeche Nord
6.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Ardeche Nord
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ferdinand-François-Auguste Donnet: Nadar, Public domain · Charles-François Richard: Félix Thioller d’après Antoine-Pierre Aubert, Public domain · Jean-Louis Richard: Unknown artist Unknown artist, Public domain · Émile Girodet: Marius Vachon (1850-1928), Public domain
About Bourg-Argental
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bourg-Argental is a commune of 2,886 people in the Communauté de communes des Monts du Pilat. 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
2,886 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes des Monts du Pilat
Département
Loire (42)
Région
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Area
7.8 sq mi (20.2 km²)
INSEE code
42023
Bourg-Argental’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 Bourg-Argental
Is Bourg-Argental safe?
It grades B+ for safety, #16 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 19 burglaries and 9 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bourg-Argental good?
They grade A, better than 89% of compared French towns and #5 of 50 in Loire. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bourg-Argental expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bourg-Argental 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.
