Some subjects shine; others lag. Where it falls short is jobs & income — 0.7 jobs per working resident; 16.0% unemployment. Its best grade is for walkability: 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 18% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. A 70 m² home at the median €1,790/m² costs 5.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Saint-Etienne Métropole. All told, that adds up to a C− overall, better than just over a fifth of compared French towns. Crime runs high (D): an average of 10.3 recorded violent incidents and 22.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · 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 Rive-de-Gier 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 Rive-de-Gier.
Work & commuteJobs & income D−
Unemployment in Rive-de-Gier, 16.0%, runs above Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Median disposable income comes to €21,750 a year per consumption unit. Public transport took 12.0% of Rive-de-Gier’s working residents to work at the census. At the census, 2.9% of working residents in Rive-de-Gier didn’t travel to work at all.
18%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving78%
Public transport12%
On foot6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle0%
3,850
jobs based in Rive-de-Gier, 0.7 per working resident
16.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,750
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Rive-de-Gier than in 87% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 437 offenses in Rive-de-Gier in 2025. Of the graded crimes locally, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
10.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage152
Family violence63
Other physical violence59
Burglary54
Vehicle theft52
Theft from vehicles34
Sexual violence23
Drug use158
Theft without violence116
Fraud99
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.
10.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
437
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.2%
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 armed robbery, 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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C
Rive-de-Gier sees 95 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,382 deaths in Rive-de-Gier from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,491, 8% more. Average lifespans in Loire: 85.6 years for women, 80.8 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. There are 12 general practitioners here.
−5%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted95
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Rive-de-Gier · 3.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital du Gier Mco
5.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital du Gier Mco
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
7 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2012
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Rive-de-Gier has 4.6 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Loire’s towns (1.9) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2012. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 19th century. Homes built before 1919 account for 11% of the housing.
7historic monuments
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé0
Inscrit6
Level not given1
19th c.
oldest protected part
1981
first monument protected
2012
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
A town of families: 22% of people in Rive-de-Gier are under 15, more than in Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
Degrees are held by 20% of adults, below Loire’s towns (28%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. Over-65s are 19% of the population. Rive-de-Gier has a median age of 39.8 years.
39.8median age
Rive-de-GierLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma29%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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
HousingCost of living B
For cost of living, Rive-de-Gier gets a B
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.72/m² a month, near Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). 322 sales of houses and apartments in Rive-de-Gier, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,790/m². A house in Rive-de-Gier goes for €2,420/m², an apartment for €1,337/m².
€1,790/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Rive-de-Gier€1,790/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,420/m²
156
Apartments
€1,337/m²
166
€9.72/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.43 to €12.71/m² a month)
5.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,640
median annual income per consumption unit, Saint-Etienne Métropole
Cyril Dessel: www.instants-cyclistes.fr from France, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marie Bonnevial: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jean-Baptiste Berlier: La Vie au Grand Air, Public domain
Rive-de-Gier’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 Rive-de-Gier
Is Rive-de-Gier safe?
It grades D for safety, #44 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 54 burglaries and 152 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Rive-de-Gier good?
They grade C+, better than 39% of compared French towns and #43 of 50 in Loire. 94% of 293 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Georges Brassens 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.
Is Rive-de-Gier expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,790/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Rive-de-Gier grades B for cost of living.
About Rive-de-Gier
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Rive-de-Gier is a commune of 15,242 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
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.
