Saint-Chamond grades C overall: better than 29% of compared French towns, and #46 of 48 in Loire. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 0.9 jobs per working resident; 14.0% unemployment. At the median price of €1,540/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Saint-Etienne Métropole. Its strongest is walkability (A): 91% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Saint-Chamond 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 Saint-Chamond.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Getting about on foot is easier in Saint-Chamond than in 90% of compared French towns
Of those in the labour force, 14.0% are unemployed. The median disposable income was €22,710 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Loire’s towns (€25,635) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 2.9% of working residents in Saint-Chamond didn’t travel to work at all.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving78%
Public transport11%
On foot7%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
12,200
jobs based in Saint-Chamond, 0.9 per working resident
14.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,710
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
Saint-Chamond records more crime per resident than three in four compared French towns
The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 8.7 violent offenses and 18.7 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. Recorded offenses in Saint-Chamond came to 912 in 2025. More of the graded crimes in the town were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
8.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage357
Family violence149
Other physical violence108
Vehicle theft91
Burglary89
Theft from vehicles75
Sexual violence43
Drug use283
Theft without violence252
Fraud209
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.
8.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
912
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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 · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.1% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C+
Saint-Chamond records 91 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 82 in Loire’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Saint-Chamond can choose among 24 GPs. Average lifespans in Loire: 85.6 years for women, 80.8 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. From 2016 to 2025, 3,893 residents of Saint-Chamond died, against 3,718 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 5% more.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw105
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
24
GPs in Saint-Chamond · 3.5 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital du Gier Mco
0.3 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
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Saint-Chamond keeps more of its old housing than Loire or compared French towns: 12% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The protected list starts in Antiquity. Among the classé monuments in Saint-Chamond is Église Saint-Pierre. This Loire town has 8 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 2 classé, the highest protection, and 6 inscrit, the second level.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B−
Saint-Chamond gets a B− for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,540/m²: 966 houses and apartments sold in Saint-Chamond between July 2023 and June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €11.55/m² a month, about level with compared French towns (€12.41/m²) and above Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²). Houses in Saint-Chamond sell for €2,357/m² and apartments for €1,250/m².
€1,540/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Chamond€1,540/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,357/m²
349
Apartments
€1,250/m²
617
€11.55/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.73 to €15.27/m² a month)
4.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.38/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,640
median annual income per consumption unit, Saint-Etienne Métropole
Edmond Locard: Unbekannt >100 Jahre, Public domain · Roger Planchon: Michaud, Fernand (1929-2012). Photographe, Public domain · Nicolas Prost: Darkness00, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Floriane André: Wenflou, CC BY-SA 4.0 · François Rochebloine: Edsellpasc, CC BY 4.0
Saint-Chamond’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 Saint-Chamond
Is Saint-Chamond safe?
It grades C for safety, #37 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 89 burglaries and 357 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Chamond good?
They grade C+, better than 42% of compared French towns and #41 of 50 in Loire. 89% of 331 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Claude Lebois in 2025, 5 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Chamond expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,540/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Chamond grades B− for cost of living.
About Saint-Chamond
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Chamond is a commune of 35,646 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.
