Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4,630 people call this town in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes home.
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Work and incomes are strong: 1 job per working resident; 5.6% unemployment. La Fouillouse grades B+ overall, better than 69% of compared French towns. That places it #31 of 48 in Loire. Crime is low (B+): an average of 2.5 recorded violent incidents and 15.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. A 70 m² home at the median €2,338/m² costs 6.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Saint-Etienne Métropole. The catch is schools — bac results 1.7 points below the expected rate; brevet results 4.1 points below the expected rate. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · 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.
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 La Fouillouse does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares La Fouillouse 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 La Fouillouse as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Église de Saint-Rambert, in Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, 3.6 mi away.
11% 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 La Fouillouse.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the vocational lycée within 5 km, 77% of 87 candidates passed the bac pro. For exam results, it comes #48 of 50 in Loire. Near La Fouillouse, 94.7% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with Loire’s towns (93.4%) and above compared French towns (92.9%).
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Saint-Joseph PrivateNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 71 | 93%−2 pts |
| Lycée François Mauriac - ForezNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 436 | 98%±0 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Recorded offenses in La Fouillouse came to 99 in 2025. Of the graded crimes here, criminal damage came up most often (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 · Small counts of other physical violence, sexual violence, armed robbery and vehicle theft go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 8.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
The share of residents under 15 is 16%. People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town, close to Loire’s towns (25%) and above compared French towns (22%). The middle age in La Fouillouse is 45.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| La Fouillouse | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 14% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 23% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 40% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 6.6% of commuters at the census. Unemployment stood at 5.6%, below both Loire’s towns (8.6%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Per resident in work, La Fouillouse counts 1 jobs (1,950 jobs, 2,050 workers).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €9.96/m² a month, about level with Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). 187 sales of houses and apartments in La Fouillouse, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €2,338/m². Houses in La Fouillouse sell for €2,651/m² and apartments for €1,922/m².
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,651/m² | 120 |
| Apartments | €1,922/m² | 67 |
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.
From 2016 to 2025, 497 residents of La Fouillouse died, against 504 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 1% fewer. Its care home for older people (82 places) counts its residents as La Fouillouse’s; allowing for it, deaths were 14% below expected. For a family doctor, residents of La Fouillouse can choose among 5 GPs. Women in Loire live to 85.6 on average and men to 80.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
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 · Allowing for care homes is a TownRatings estimate, not a published statistic.
Museums, heritage and family days out in and near La Fouillouse. Best known first.
MuseumMusée des transports urbains de Saint-Étienne et sa région4.6 km southeast, in Saint-Priest-en-JarezChâteauChâteauChâteau de Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules4.6 km north, in Saint-Bonnet-les-OulesArt galleryArt galleryFlux Libre4.5 km west, in Saint-Just-Saint-RambertWater parkWater parkNautiform4.9 km northwest, in Andrézieux-BouthéonAttractionAttractionPetit Train4.7 km southeast, in VillarsPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in La Fouillouse is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in La Fouillouse yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Fouillouse | 4,630 | — | B+ | C+ | B+ | B |
| L'Étrat | 2,879 | 3 | A− | C− | B | A− |
| Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert | 15,764 | 3.1 | A− | B− | B+ | C+ |
| Villars | 7,664 | 3.1 | A | B+ | C | A |
| Andrézieux-Bouthéon | 10,425 | 3.2 | B− | C | C | B |
| Saint-Héand | 3,665 | 3.3 | — | C+ | — | B− |
| Saint-Priest-en-Jarez | 6,471 | 3.4 | B+ | C | C− | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B+ for safety, #17 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 28 burglaries and 46 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C, better than 32% of compared French towns and #48 of 50 in Loire. 98% of 436 candidates passed the bac at Lycée François Mauriac - Forez in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,338/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so La Fouillouse grades C+ for cost of living.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
La Fouillouse is a commune of 4,630 people in the Saint-Etienne Métropole. 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 November 4, 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.