Prices are modest for what you get (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−). Incomes are on the low side: 0.7 jobs per working resident; 8.1% unemployment. Holiday and other second homes account for 29% of homes.
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. Usson-en-Forez 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 Usson-en-Forez 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 Usson-en-Forez.
HousingCost of living A+
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Usson-en-Forez than in Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: €7.65/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Half the homes sold went for more than €1,327/m², lower than both Loire’s towns (€2,075/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Houses accounted for 96% of sales, apartments for the rest. Renting a house costs an estimated €6.71/m² a month.
€1,327/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Usson-en-Forez€1,327/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Loire median€2,075/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,327/m²
52
€7.65/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€5.86 to €9.98/m² a month)
3.5
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
Who lives here
An older town: 37% of people in Usson-en-Forez are 65 or over, more than in Loire’s towns or compared French towns
Just over one in ten residents are children under 15. The 15-to-24 age group: 8.8%, lower than both Loire’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Among adults, 20% have a degree.
56median age
Usson-en-ForezLoire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth C−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Usson-en-Forez run higher than in 79% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
2 GPs practise in Usson-en-Forez. Adjusted mortality locally: 100 deaths for every 100 expected. 319 deaths here between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 248: 29% above. The nearest emergency department to Usson-en-Forez is Centre hospitalier D Ambert, 14.7 mi away.
−0%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw129
Adjusted100
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Usson-en-Forez · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
14.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Ambert
16.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch du Forez site de Montbrison
85.6 · 80.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Usson-en-Forez keeps more of its old housing than Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 37% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 12th century. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Usson-en-Forez, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Money is tighter in Usson-en-Forez than in Loire’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €24,000 a year per consumption unit
Unemployment stood at 8.1%, below Loire’s towns (8.6%) and compared French towns (10.1%) alike. Public transport took 3.1% of Usson-en-Forez’s working residents to work at the census.
12%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
On foot8%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Bicycle1%
350
jobs based in Usson-en-Forez, 0.7 per working resident
8.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,000
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 52% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Usson-en-Forez has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
Police and gendarmerie figures for Usson-en-Forez show 19 offenses in 2025. Graded property crimes ran at 6.7 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 5.3 (2023–2025 average). The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
5.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage11
Family violence8
Armed robbery0
Vehicle theft0
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.
5.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
6.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
19
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
63.9%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary 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 (63.9% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Écomusée des monts du Forez and 4 more in and around Usson-en-Forez
Other places to visit, heritage and museums in and near Usson-en-Forez. Best known first.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Usson-en-Forez
Is Usson-en-Forez safe?
Usson-en-Forez has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average.
Is Usson-en-Forez expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Usson-en-Forez grades A+ for cost of living.
About Usson-en-Forez
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Usson-en-Forez is a commune of 1,455 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.
