Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,764 residents make their home in this town in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Overall, Saint-Martin-la-Plaine earns an A, which places it #14 of 48 in Loire. That leaves it better than 88% of compared French towns. Health outcomes beat most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 32% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The catch is cost of living (C): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.2 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
The one thing Saint-Martin-la-Plaine does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Martin-la-Plaine 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 →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saint-Martin-la-Plaine as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Anciennes usines Marrel, in Châteauneuf, 1.8 mi away.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Martin-la-Plaine.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Saint-Martin-la-Plaine has 2 family doctors. The nearest emergency department to Saint-Martin-la-Plaine is Hopital du Gier Mco, 6.3 mi away. 197 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 291: 32% below. 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.
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 · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic.
In 2025, 48 offenses were recorded in Saint-Martin-la-Plaine. Each year (2023–2025 average), violence against people came to 1.5 per 1,000 residents and the graded property crimes to 12.9. Police and gendarmerie recorded 48 offenses in the graded categories 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 family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence and theft from vehicles number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (13.9% of the index here). With more than 10% of the index estimated that way, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
No town in Loire costs more to buy into than Saint-Martin-la-Plaine, at €2,780/m², the highest of 53. The estimated advertised rent is €10.73/m² a month, above Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) but below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Among the homes sold, 86% were houses.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,864/m² | 80 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Unemployment stood at 6.5%, below both Loire’s towns (8.6%) and compared French towns (10.1%). For its 1,700 residents in work, Saint-Martin-la-Plaine has 750 jobs: 0.4 each. No commute at all: 3.3% of working residents locally at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Children under 15 make up 18%, above both Loire’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). Those 65 and older account for just over a fifth of residents. Half of Saint-Martin-la-Plaine is older than 45.2, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Martin-la-Plaine | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 13% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 36% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The nearest collège is 1.5 mi away. Its collèges and lycées rank #39 of 50 in Loire on results.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Notre-Dame des Collines PrivateNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 99 | 91%+9 pts |
| Lycée Georges BrassensNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 293 | 94%−3 pts |
| Collège François TruffautBest against expectations: 2 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 154 | 93%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Other places to visit, family days out and museums in and near Saint-Martin-la-Plaine. Best known first.
ZooEspace zoologique de Saint-Martin-la-Plainein townMuseumMuseumLa Mourine - maison des forgeronsin townAttractionAttractionBarrage détruit par arreté préfectoral 12-714 An 20123.2 km northwest, in Saint-Romain-en-JarezChâteauChâteauChâteau du Mollard3.3 km south, in ChâteauneufAttractionAttractionPierre de Chagnon3.8 km west, in ChagnonPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in Saint-Martin-la-Plaine is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Saint-Martin-la-Plaine as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Martin-la-Plaine | 3,764 | — | A | C | A− | A |
| Genilac | 3,839 | 1.2 | B | C | B | A− |
| Rive-de-Gier | 15,242 | 1.3 | C− | B | D | C |
| Lorette | 4,983 | 2.5 | C+ | C+ | B− | B− |
| La Grand-Croix | 4,947 | 3.4 | C+ | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Chabanière Rhône | 4,323 | 3.5 | A | B | B− | A |
| Saint-Paul-en-Jarez | 4,699 | 4.3 | A− | C− | B+ | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades A− for safety, #10 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 23 burglaries and 16 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B−, better than 47% of compared French towns and #39 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.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Martin-la-Plaine grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Martin-la-Plaine is a commune of 3,764 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 9, 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.