Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,664 in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Villars grades A overall: better than 89% of compared French towns, and #13 of 48 in Loire. Its weakest subject is safety (C): an average of 4.5 recorded violent incidents and 22.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €1,378/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Saint-Etienne Métropole. Its strongest is health (A): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 29% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
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 Villars does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Villars 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 →
Villars has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 19th century; the first monument here was protected in 2001.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Museums, heritage and other places to visit in and near Villars. Best known first.
CathedralCathédrale Saint-Charles-Borromée de Saint-Étienne3.6 km southeast, in Saint-Étienne
MuseumMusée d'Art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne Métropole1.4 km east, in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez
MuseumCouriot - Musée de la Mine3.5 km southeast, in Saint-Étienne
MuseumMusée des transports urbains de Saint-Étienne et sa région1.3 km northeast, in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez
MuseumMusée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne4.5 km southeast, in Saint-ÉtiennePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Villars.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 6 general practitioners in Villars. At birth, a girl in Loire can expect 85.6 years and a boy 80.8 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. France’s death rates at each age would predict 770 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 596, 23% fewer.
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 · Note: TownRatings models the care-home adjustment; it is not an official figure.
Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €26,970 a year. Villars holds 2,550 jobs; 3,150 of its residents are in work, so 0.8 jobs each. The jobless rate is 8.3%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
In all, 203 offenses reached the police record in Villars in 2025. Among the graded crimes here, the most frequent was criminal damage (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 · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.4% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
288 sales of houses and apartments in Villars, from July 2023 to June 2026, give the median of €1,378/m². In Villars, houses go for €2,632/m² and apartments for €1,190/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.17/m² a month, near Loire’s towns (€10.17/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,632/m² | 95 |
| Apartments | €1,190/m² | 193 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 90% passed the bac pro, of 669 candidates at 8 lycées. By results, schools here place #21 of 50 in Loire. Collège pupils travel 0.9 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège les ChampsNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 185 | 79%−8 pts |
| Lycée Simone WeilNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 238 | 95%−2 pts |
| Collège Jules VallèsBest against expectations: 22 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 65 | 94%+22 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 19th century. 4% of homes date from before 1919.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Degrees are held by nearly a third of adults, above both Loire’s towns (28%) and compared French towns (30%). People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town. The age that splits Villars in two is 46.6.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Villars | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 32% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Villars has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Villars yet.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villars | 7,664 | — | A | B+ | C | A |
| Saint-Priest-en-Jarez | 6,471 | 1.1 | B+ | C | C− | A |
| Saint-Genest-Lerpt | 6,181 | 1.5 | B+ | B− | B− | B |
| L'Étrat | 2,879 | 1.7 | A− | C− | B | A− |
| Saint-Étienne | 173,136 | 2.8 | C+ | A− | D− | B− |
| Roche-la-Molière | 9,843 | 3.1 | A− | C+ | B | B+ |
| La Fouillouse | 4,630 | 3.1 | B+ | C+ | B+ | B |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C for safety, #35 of 48 in Loire. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 52 burglaries and 69 acts of criminal damage.
They grade B+, better than 69% of compared French towns and #21 of 50 in Loire. 95% of 238 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Simone Weil in 2025, 2 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,378/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Villars grades B+ for cost of living.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Villars is a commune of 7,664 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 October 30, 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.