Ambert grades A+ overall: better than 96% of compared French towns, and #7 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme. Its strongest is cost of living (A): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.4 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 Ambert 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 Ambert.
HousingCost of living A
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Ambert than in Puy-de-Dôme’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.30/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €1,164/m², below both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (€2,181/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Renting a house costs an estimated €7.06/m² a month. The sales split: 90% houses, the rest apartments.
€1,164/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Ambert€1,164/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Puy-de-Dôme median€2,181/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,175/m²
210
€8.30/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.52 to €10.57/m² a month)
3.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.06/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,960
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Ambert Livradois Forez
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
100.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the collège within 5 km, 9 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Results rank its schools #2 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme. At the lycées within 5 km of Ambert, 94.2% passed the bac, higher than Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (92.5%) and near compared French towns (92.9%). Also worth knowing: a collège lies 0.7 mi away.
98%passed the bac (general and technological)ASchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Ambert: 15% were built before 1919, more than in both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Per 10,000 residents, Ambert counts 9.2 protected monuments, higher than both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (6.6) and compared French towns (2.5). A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 2004. The town has 6 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 4 classé, the highest protection, and 2 inscrit, the second level. Among the classé monuments locally is Dolmen dit La Pierre Couverte.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Older residents shape Ambert: 30% are 65 or over, above Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and compared French towns
13% are under 15, below Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. Among adults, 25% have a degree.
51.4median age
AmbertPuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Puy-de-Dôme median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
More commuters in Ambert walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Puy-de-Dôme’s towns or compared French towns: 19.5%
The median disposable income was €24,800 a year per consumption unit, below Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (€27,050) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. Per resident in work, Ambert counts 1.6 jobs (4,050 jobs, 2,550 workers). 5.8% of the town’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving74%
On foot14%
Bicycle3%
Public transport3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
4,050
jobs based in Ambert, 1.6 per working resident
10.2%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,800
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 66% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Per resident, Ambert sees less crime than 65% of compared French towns
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 10.6 violent offenses and 7.8 graded property crimes a year. The 2025 count: 118 offenses in Ambert. In 2025, other physical violence led the graded crimes here.
10.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Other physical violence42
Criminal damage37
Sexual violence17
Family violence16
Vehicle theft6
Fraud37
Theft without violence34
Drug use26
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.
10.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
7.8
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
3.7%
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 · For armed robbery, burglary and theft from vehicles, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 3.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth B−
Ambert has a lower adjusted death rate than 51% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
There are 4 general practitioners in Ambert. Its care home for older people (174 places) counts its residents as Ambert’s; allowing for it, deaths were 13% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,010 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,062, 5% more. Life expectancy in Puy-de-Dôme: 85.6 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
−13%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw105
Adjusted87
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Ambert · 2.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier D Ambert
15.2 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch du Forez site de Montbrison
85.6 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Puy-de-Dôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Église Saint-Jean: Photo: Rilba · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison du 15e siècle: Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen · CC BY 4.0 · Moulin à papier de Richard-de-Bas: Photo: Pechristener · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hôtel de ville: Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont · CC BY-SA 3.0
Michel Rolle: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Agnelle Bundervoët: Wikipiana, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul Aulagnier: CouStP, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Henri Claudon: Aclaudon, Public domain · Adrien Farjon: V. Rose, Public domain
Ambert’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 Ambert
Is Ambert safe?
It grades B+ for safety, #18 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme.
Are schools in Ambert good?
They grade A, better than 88% of compared French towns and #2 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme. The lycée stands out: 98% of 89 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Blaise Pascal in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Ambert expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Ambert grades A for cost of living.
About Ambert
Commune in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Ambert is a commune of 6,517 people in the Communauté de communes Ambert Livradois Forez. 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.
