A town of contrasts. Crime is the sore point (C−): an average of 11.4 recorded violent incidents and 18.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Overall, Issoire earns a C+, which places it #34 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme. It comes out better than 36% of compared French towns. Fewer journeys need a car: 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 24% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes sell for a median €1,961/m²: 70 m² comes to 5.4 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Agglo Pays d'Issoire.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
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 Issoire 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 Issoire.
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Issoire is easier to get around on foot than nine in ten compared French towns
Issoire holds 13,050 jobs; 6,200 of its residents are in work, so 2.1 jobs each. Unemployment stood at 11.8%, above both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (9.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €24,480 a year per consumption unit.
24%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving68%
On foot14%
Bicycle5%
Public transport5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
13,050
jobs based in Issoire, 2.1 per working resident
11.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,480
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
12 historic monuments, 2 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Issoire is Église Saint-Austremoine. Per 10,000 residents, Issoire counts 7.9 protected monuments, above Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (6.6) and compared French towns (2.5) alike. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 10th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Issoire records more crime per resident than four in five compared French towns
Of the graded crimes in Issoire, criminal damage came up most often (2025). The 2025 count: 448 offenses in the town.
11.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage160
Family violence72
Other physical violence67
Burglary49
Sexual violence46
Theft from vehicles38
Vehicle theft16
Theft without violence141
Fraud103
Drug use94
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.
11.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
448
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
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, 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Schools
88.7% of candidates passed the brevet at the three collèges within 5 km, 3.9 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
School results put the town #28 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme. Near Issoire, 93.1% of lycée candidates passed the bac, about level with both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (92.5%) and compared French towns (92.9%).
96%passed the bac (general and technological)CSchool Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Issoire sees 93 deaths per 100 expected: under what its ages predict, yet above Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy at birth in Puy-de-Dôme is 85.6 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,706 deaths in Issoire from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,862, 9% more. 26 GPs practise in the town.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw109
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
26
GPs in Issoire · 4.7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier Paul Ardier Issoire
0.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Paul Ardier Issoire
85.6 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Puy-de-Dôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Students and young workers shape Issoire: 12% are 15 to 24, above Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and compared French towns
26% of residents have reached 65. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
45.9median age
IssoirePuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
26%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education27%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Puy-de-Dôme median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living B
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Issoire than in Puy-de-Dôme’s towns or across compared French towns: €10.30/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €1,961/m², comes from 637 sales of houses and apartments in Issoire from July 2023 to June 2026. The split in the town: €2,087/m² for houses, €1,833/m² for apartments. From July 2023 to June 2026, 637 homes were sold in the town.
€1,961/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Issoire€1,961/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Puy-de-Dôme median€2,181/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,087/m²
310
Apartments
€1,833/m²
327
€10.30/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.09 to €13.11/m² a month)
5.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.67/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,280
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Agglo Pays d'Issoire
Auguste Pomel: Penne, J., Public domain · Antoine Duprat: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Nicolas Baldo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Agénor Altaroche: Nadar, Public domain
Issoire’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 Issoire
Is Issoire safe?
It grades C− for safety, #34 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 49 burglaries and 160 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Issoire good?
They grade C, better than 31% of compared French towns and #28 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme. The lycée stands out: 99% of 68 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique privé Sévigné Saint-Louis 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 Issoire expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,961/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Issoire grades B for cost of living.
About Issoire
Commune in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Issoire is a commune of 15,115 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Agglo Pays d'Issoire. 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.
