Decize grades B− overall: better than 45% of compared French towns, and #9 of 12 in Nièvre. Its weakest subject is schools (C−): bac results 1.6 points below the expected rate; brevet results 9 points below the expected rate. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality.
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 Decize 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 Decize.
HousingCost of living A
Decize’s median home price is €967/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The split in Decize: €1,147/m² for houses, €811/m² for apartments. The estimated advertised rent is €9.03/m² a month, near Nièvre’s towns (€9.08/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Sales locally from July 2023 to June 2026: 236 houses and apartments.
€967/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Decize€967/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nièvre median€1,116/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,147/m²
151
Apartments
€811/m²
85
€9.03/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.27 to €11.21/m² a month)
2.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,620
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Sud Nivernais
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Children make up only 10% of Decize, fewer than in both Nièvre’s towns and compared French towns
People 65 and over make up 37% of the town, above Nièvre’s towns (32%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. The 15-to-24 age group makes up 8.7% of residents. Graduates make up 18% of adults.
56.7median age
DecizeNièvre medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma27%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education18%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Nièvre median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
5 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1990
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Decize has 10 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Nièvre’s towns (4.1) and compared French towns (2.5). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1990. The oldest protected building goes back to the 7th century. Among the classé monuments here is Église Saint-Aré.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Schools
Fewer pupils pass the brevet at the collèges near Decize than in Nièvre’s towns or compared French towns: 79.0%
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The town’s schools place #11 of 12 in Nièvre on results. Near Decize, 95.9% of lycée candidates passed the bac, higher than both Nièvre’s towns (93.4%) and compared French towns (92.9%). Also worth knowing: at the vocational lycée within 5 km, 95% of 21 candidates passed the bac pro.
96%passed the bac (general and technological)C−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C
19.6% of commuters in Decize go to work without a car, more than in both Nièvre’s towns and compared French towns
Unemployment stood at 12.8%, below Nièvre’s towns (14.2%) but above compared French towns (10.1%). For its 1,600 residents in work, Decize has 3,000 jobs: 1.8 each. Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €23,230 a year.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
On foot13%
Public transport5%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
3,000
jobs based in Decize, 1.8 per working resident
12.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,230
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 72% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Decize run higher than in 63% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 2 general practitioners in Decize. Its care home for older people (170 places) counts its residents as Decize’s; allowing for it, deaths were 7% below expected. From 2016 to 2025, 1,126 residents of Decize died, against 1,038 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 8% more. In Nièvre, women can expect to live 84.1 years and men 76.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw108
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Decize · 1.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch Decize
18.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Moulins
84.1 · 76.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Nièvre, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Crime per resident in Decize is higher than in 63% of compared French towns
Violence against people ran at 12.2 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 12.1 (2023–2025 average). 118 offenses were reported in Decize during 2025. Among the graded crimes locally, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025).
12.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage42
Family violence25
Other physical violence19
Sexual violence16
Burglary16
Theft without violence39
Fraud31
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.
12.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
118
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
2.9%
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 armed robbery, vehicle theft 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 (2.9% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Nearby attractions
Château de Decize and 5 more in and around Decize
Heritage, other places to visit and museums in and near Decize. Best known first.
Louis Antoine de Saint-Just: After Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, Public domain · Maurice Genevoix: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Clément Frisch: LR1323, CC BY 4.0 · Hector Hanoteau: Marcel Hanoteau (1861-1907), Public domain · Adolphe Hanoteau: Anonymous Unknown author Upload, stitch and restoration by Jebulon, Public domain
Decize’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 Decize
Is Decize safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #7 of 12 in Nièvre. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 16 burglaries and 42 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Decize good?
They grade C−, better than 18% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Decize expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Decize grades A for cost of living.
About Decize
Commune in Nièvre, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Decize is a commune of 4,932 people in the Communauté de communes Sud Nivernais. 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.
