Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: just over four in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 21% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The local economy is weaker than most (C−): 1.4 jobs per working resident; 13.7% unemployment. Health is weaker too (C−). Buying 70 m² at the median €1,800/m² takes 5.2 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Communauté de communes du Massif du Sancy.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. La Bourboule 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 La Bourboule 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 La Bourboule.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Money is tighter in La Bourboule than in Puy-de-Dôme’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €22,130 a year per consumption unit
13.7% of the labour force were unemployed, above both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (9.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). At the census, just over a fifth of commuters got to work without a car.
21%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving69%
On foot19%
Public transport2%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
950
jobs based in La Bourboule, 1.4 per working resident
13.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,130
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
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
HealthHealth C−
La Bourboule is 20.6 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in La Bourboule come to 100 per 100 predicted. For a family doctor, residents of La Bourboule can choose among 5 GPs. Life expectancy in Puy-de-Dôme: 85.6 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. From 2016 to 2025, 184 residents of La Bourboule died, about as many as the 184 expected from France’s death rates at each age.
−0%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw100
Adjusted100
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in La Bourboule · 7 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
20.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Gabriel Montpied Chu Clermont Ferrand
19.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Prive la Chataigneraie
85.6 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Puy-de-Dôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
La Bourboule has fewer young adults than Puy-de-Dôme’s towns or compared French towns: 7.1% are 15 to 24
The 65-and-over age group makes up 27% of residents. 13% are under 15, below both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). At 53.2, the median resident of La Bourboule sits in the middle of the age range.
53.2median age
La BourboulePuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
27%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 88 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
History
Old homes shape La Bourboule: 19% 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.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in La Bourboule, none of them classé, France’s highest protection. Its heritage reaches back to the 13th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B
Homes in La Bourboule cost less than in both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,800/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €1,449/m² in La Bourboule, apartments for €1,839/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €10.69/m² a month, about level with Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (€11.00/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). For a house, the estimated advertised rent is €6.59/m² a month.
€1,800/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Bourboule€1,800/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Puy-de-Dôme median€2,181/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,449/m²
48
Apartments
€1,839/m²
180
€10.69/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.91 to €14.46/m² a month)
5.2
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€6.59/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,400
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Massif du Sancy
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
La Bourboule has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
In all, 16 offenses reached the police record in La Bourboule in 2025. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 5.9 violent offenses and 12 graded property crimes a year. With 950 jobs for 700 working residents, La Bourboule draws people in from neighbouring communes. The commonest graded crime locally was criminal damage (2025).
5.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage9
Family violence7
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence15
Drug use8
Fraud7
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.
5.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
12
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
16
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
25.7%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft 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, 25.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Bourboule
Is La Bourboule safe?
La Bourboule has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average.
Is La Bourboule expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Bourboule grades B for cost of living.
About La Bourboule
Commune in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
La Bourboule is a commune of 1,727 people in the Communauté de communes du Massif du Sancy. 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.
