Housing is within reach: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health is its weak spot: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 3% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Work and incomes lag: 2.1 jobs per working resident; 12.7% unemployment. Homes go for a median €1,269/m².
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment, INSEE census 2023. Saint-Bonnet-le-Château has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Saint-Bonnet-le-Château 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.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château counts 9 historic monuments: 2 classé at the top level of protection and 7 inscrit at the second.
The oldest protected part dates from the 10th century; the first monument here was protected in 1922.
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002.
22% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
1922First protected: Église Saint-Bonnet
1945Most recently protected: Maisons du 16e siècle
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château.
HousingCost of living A+
Renting in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château costs less than in Loire’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.10/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses were 63% of what sold. House rents are put at about €6.71/m² a month. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 52 homes in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château.
€1,269/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château€1,269/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,590/m²
33
€8.10/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.08 to €10.79/m² a month)
3.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.71/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
Work & commuteJobs & income C
A walkable place: Saint-Bonnet-le-Château beats 95% of compared French towns on foot
19.6% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, higher than both Loire’s towns (11.9%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Households’ median disposable income: €22,520 a year per consumption unit. The unemployment rate comes to 12.7%.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving75%
On foot17%
Public transport2%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
1,050
jobs based in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château, 2.1 per working resident
12.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,520
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 95% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château skews older, with 34% of residents 65 or over, more than in Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
18% of adults hold a degree, below both Loire’s towns (28%) and compared French towns (30%). The share of residents under 15 is 14%. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town.
49.2median age
Saint-Bonnet-le-ChâteauLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
34%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma31%
CAP or BEP25%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education18%
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−
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 84% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
434 deaths in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 314: 38% above. Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château records 103 deaths per 100 expected, higher than both Loire’s towns (82) and compared French towns (88). Also worth knowing: the nearest emergency department to Saint-Bonnet-le-Château is Centre hospitalier de Firminy, 11.1 mi away. For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Bonnet-le-Château can choose among 2 GPs.
+3%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw138
Adjusted103
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
11.1 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Firminy
11.1 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Firminy
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château is rich in protected monuments: 62 per 10,000 residents, more than in Loire’s towns and across compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Just over a fifth of its homes were built before 1919, above Loire’s towns (7.2%) and compared French towns (7.4%) alike. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002. The protected list starts in the 10th century. Among the classé monuments in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château is Église Saint-Bonnet.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
Violence against people ran at 6.2 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 13.8 (2023–2025 average). Over 2025, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château logged 16 recorded offenses. This Loire town has 1,050 jobs for 500 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. More of the graded crimes here were family violence than anything else (2025).
6.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Family violence10
Criminal damage6
Armed robbery0
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.
6.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
38.3%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 38.3% 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.
Nearby attractions
Couvent des Ursulines de Saint-Bonnet-le-Château and 7 more in and around Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Saint-Bonnet-le-Château. Best known first.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château counts 9 historic monuments: 2 classé at the top level of protection and 7 inscrit at the second.
Maison du 16e siècle: Photo: Excelsior et tamquam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maisons du 16e siècle: Photo: Excelsior et tamquam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tourelle d'escalier: Photo: Excelsior et tamquam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Couvent des Ursulines (ancien): Photo: Myrof · CC BY-SA 4.0
Famous people from Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
3 notable people were born in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
Is Saint-Bonnet-le-Château safe?
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average.
Are schools in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château good?
They grade B, better than 55% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Bonnet-le-Château expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Bonnet-le-Château grades A+ for cost of living.
About Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château is a commune of 1,459 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.
