Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 8,039 residents, it is a town in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Buying a home costs less than in most towns: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. La Ricamarie grades B+ overall, better than two thirds of compared French towns, and ranks #33 of 48 in Loire. It also does well on walkability (A) — nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Safety is weaker too — an average of 10.1 recorded violent incidents and 25.4 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 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · 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.
The 2 things La Ricamarie does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares La Ricamarie 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 →
La Ricamarie has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 20th century; the first monument here was protected in 2003.
Wikidata records 2 people born in La Ricamarie before 1900, the earliest Émilienne Dux, in 1874.
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near La Ricamarie. Best known first.
CathedralCathédrale Saint-Charles-Borromée de Saint-Étienne4.4 km north, in Saint-Étienne
MuseumCouriot - Musée de la Mine3.9 km north, in Saint-Étienne
MuseumMusée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne3.5 km northeast, in Saint-Étienne
MuseumLa Rotonde3.9 km northeast, in Saint-ÉtienneHistoric houseHistoric housePalais Mimard3.6 km northeast, in Saint-ÉtiennePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Ricamarie.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €8.67/m² a month, below both Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses sell for €2,017/m² in La Ricamarie, apartments for €712/m². Renting a house costs an estimated €8.57/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,017/m² | 78 |
| Apartments | €712/m² | 101 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The graded crime recorded most in La Ricamarie was criminal damage (2025). In all, 312 offenses reached the police record locally in 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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.3% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
At the census, 16.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Loire’s towns (11.9%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. For its 2,300 residents in work, La Ricamarie has 2,300 jobs: 1 each. The median disposable income is €18,380 a year per consumption unit.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Loire, life expectancy at birth reaches 85.6 years for women and 80.8 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. From 2016 to 2025, 589 residents of La Ricamarie died, against 688 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 14% fewer. There are 4 general practitioners in the town.
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.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 88% passed the bac pro, of 598 candidates at 8 lycées. Results rank its schools #27 of 50 in Loire.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jules VallèsNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 43 | 84%+12 pts |
| Lycée Honoré d'UrféNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 415 | 91%−3 pts |
| Collège GambettaBest against expectations: 12 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 215 | 87%+12 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Aged 15 to 24: 14% of residents. People 65 and over make up 20% of the town, lower than both Loire’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%). Ages in La Ricamarie split evenly at 37.5: half are older, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| La Ricamarie | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 33% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 27% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 17% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, below Loire’s towns (7.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 20th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
La Ricamarie has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
6 notable people were born in La Ricamarie.
Adel Chedli: محمد أمين الطرابلسي, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henri Epalle: Fntmrl, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pétrus Faure: Agence de presse Mondial Photo-Presse, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Ricamarie | 8,039 | — | B+ | A | D | A− |
| Le Chambon-Feugerolles | 12,314 | 1.9 | C+ | A− | C− | C |
| Saint-Étienne | 173,136 | 2.6 | C+ | A− | D− | B− |
| Roche-la-Molière | 9,843 | 2.9 | A− | C+ | B | B+ |
| Saint-Genest-Lerpt | 6,181 | 3.4 | B+ | B− | B− | B |
| Firminy | 17,060 | 3.9 | B− | A | D | B |
| Villars | 7,664 | 4.4 | A | B+ | C | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #45 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 41 burglaries and 131 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B, better than 61% of compared French towns and #27 of 50 in Loire. 91% of 415 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Honoré d'Urfé in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Ricamarie grades A for cost of living.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
La Ricamarie is a commune of 8,039 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.