Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Its weakest is safety: an average of 10.2 recorded violent incidents and 32.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 38% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Put together, the subjects come to a C+ overall, better than 44% of compared French towns. That places it #41 of 48 in Loire. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and B− for health.
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) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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-Étienne 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-Étienne.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
More people in Saint-Étienne are out of work than in Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: 19.0%
Half of residents lived on more than €20,880 a year per consumption unit, below both Loire’s towns (€25,635) and compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 38.3% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
38%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving58%
Public transport23%
On foot12%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
84,150
jobs based in Saint-Étienne, 1.4 per working resident
19.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,880
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 97% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Saint-Étienne runs higher than in 97% of compared French towns
Saint-Étienne ranks last of the 48 compared towns in Loire on the Safety Grade. The 2025 count: 7,697 offenses in the town. Jobs outnumber working residents in Saint-Étienne (84,150 to 60,900): it draws people in from around. Also worth knowing: among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
10.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage2,631
Theft from vehicles1,844
Burglary1,005
Other physical violence747
Family violence678
Vehicle theft484
Sexual violence262
Armed robbery46
Theft without violence2,643
Drug use1,426
Fraud1,216
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.
10.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
32.9
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7,697
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · 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.
HousingCost of living A−
A home in Saint-Étienne sells for €1,232/m², less than in both Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Saint-Étienne: €2,145/m² for houses, €1,194/m² for apartments. Advertised rents are estimated at €9.88/m² a month, close to Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses accounted for 8% of sales, apartments for the rest.
€1,232/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Saint-Étienne€1,232/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,145/m²
666
Apartments
€1,194/m²
7,228
€9.88/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.41 to €13.18/m² a month)
3.6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.06/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,640
median annual income per consumption unit, Saint-Etienne Métropole
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
A young town: 17% of people in Saint-Étienne are 15 to 24, more than in both Loire’s towns and compared French towns
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, below both Loire’s towns (25%) and compared French towns (22%). Saint-Étienne has a median age of 37.5 years. Among adults, 30% have a degree.
37.5median age
Saint-ÉtienneLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma25%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 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
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, Saint-Étienne sees fewer deaths than 53% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
17,808 deaths in Saint-Étienne between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 18,039: 1% below. Its 27 care homes for older people (2,445 places) count their residents as Saint-Étienne’s; allowing for them, deaths were 13% below expected. This Loire town has 161 family doctors. Average lifespans in Loire: 85.6 years for women, 80.8 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw99
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
161
GPs in Saint-Étienne · 3.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Prive de la Loire
1.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive de la Loire
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Maison dite de François Ier: Photo: AlSepPhoenix · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château de Rochetaillée (restes): Photo: Rémih · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église de Valbenoite: Photo: Daniel VILLAFRUELA · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Saint-Étienne
Is Saint-Étienne safe?
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 1,005 burglaries and 2,631 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Saint-Étienne good?
They grade B, better than 57% of compared French towns and #33 of 50 in Loire. 93% of 313 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Claude Fauriel in 2025, 4 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Saint-Étienne expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Saint-Étienne grades A− for cost of living.
About Saint-Étienne
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Étienne is a commune of 173,136 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.
