Prices are modest for what you get (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 1.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also does well on walkability: 67% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The weak point is jobs & income (C) — 1.7 jobs per working resident; 13.7% unemployment. Just over a fifth of its homes are second homes.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023. Varzy 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 Varzy 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 Varzy.
HousingCost of living A+
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Varzy than in Nièvre’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.11/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The middle sale price: €620/m², below Nièvre’s towns (€1,116/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Sales in Varzy from July 2023 to June 2026: 64 houses and apartments.
€620/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Varzy€620/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Nièvre median€1,116/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€620/m²
64
€8.11/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.49 to €10.13/m² a month)
1.9
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
€23,000
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Haut Nivernais-Val d'Yonne
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 Varzy are 65 or over, more than in Nièvre’s towns and across compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 12%, below both Nièvre’s towns (14%) and compared French towns (17%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 12% of the population. Among adults, 16% have a degree.
55.5median age
VarzyNièvre medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
37%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma33%
CAP or BEP31%
Baccalauréat13%
Higher education16%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 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
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Varzy’s grade for jobs & income: a C
Unemployment stood at 13.7%, near Nièvre’s towns (14.2%) and higher than compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €23,140 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 6.7% of working residents in Varzy didn’t travel to work at all.
15%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving77%
On foot11%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
550
jobs based in Varzy, 1.7 per working resident
13.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,140
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 68% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Varzy keeps more of its old housing than Nièvre’s towns or compared French towns: 34% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Varzy is Église Saint-Pierre. Scaled to its population, that is 75 protected monuments for every 10,000 people here. The Culture ministry lists 8 historic monuments in the town: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 7 inscrit (the second level). Protection here reaches back to the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
More deaths than expected: Varzy is above 53% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
356 deaths in Varzy between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 220: 62% above. Its care home for older people (131 places) counts its residents as Varzy’s; allowing for it, deaths were 11% below expected. The nearest emergency department to Varzy is Hopital de Clamecy, 8.6 mi away. In Nièvre, women can expect to live 84.1 years and men 76.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw162
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
0
GPs in Varzy · 1.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
8.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital de Clamecy
29 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Pierre Beregovoy
84.1 · 76.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Nièvre, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Varzy
Is Varzy safe?
Varzy has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.7 recorded violent incidents and 5.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. With 550 jobs for 350 working residents, Varzy draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents.
Is Varzy expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Varzy grades A+ for cost of living.
About Varzy
Commune in Nièvre, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Varzy is a commune of 1,069 people in the Communauté de communes Haut Nivernais-Val d'Yonne. 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.
