Riom’s best grade is for walkability: just over four in five residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 17% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Homes are affordable (A−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The catch is safety (D): an average of 10.1 recorded violent incidents and 22.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, ranking #29 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme. Nationally, it does better than three fifths of compared French towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools, B− for health and B for jobs & income.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
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 Riom 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.
Abbaye de Mozac: Christophe Ravier. Modification et retouches : user:Matth97, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Riom.
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1967, and 76 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 11th century. Among the classé monuments in Riom is Chapelle Saint-Don. The town has 40 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, 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 1967.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Riom sees more crime per resident than 87% of compared French towns
693 offenses were reported in Riom during 2025. Jobs outnumber working residents in Riom (10,950 to 7,450): it draws people in from around. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
10.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage247
Other physical violence114
Vehicle theft86
Theft from vehicles72
Burglary67
Family violence61
Sexual violence46
Theft without violence153
Fraud145
Drug use67
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.
10.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
22.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
693
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, 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, 0.1% 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.
Work & commuteJobs & income B
Getting about on foot is easier in Riom than in 84% of compared French towns
At the census, 16.6% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (10.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Per consumption unit, the median disposable income is €26,020 a year.
17%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving79%
Public transport7%
On foot7%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
10,950
jobs based in Riom, 1.5 per working resident
10.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,020
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 84% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Riom’s median home price is €2,006/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses in Riom sell for €2,264/m² and apartments for €1,754/m². The estimated advertised rent is €10.58/m² a month, close to Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (€11.00/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The town recorded 647 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
€2,006/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Riom€2,006/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Puy-de-Dôme median€2,181/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,264/m²
349
Apartments
€1,754/m²
298
€10.58/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.15 to €13.73/m² a month)
5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.07/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€28,310
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Riom Limagne et Volcans
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Riom skews young, with 12% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in Puy-de-Dôme’s towns and across compared French towns
35% of adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 16%, about level with Puy-de-Dôme’s towns (16%) and below compared French towns (17%). Half of Riom is older than 43.4, half younger.
43.4median age
RiomPuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education35%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 92 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
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, Riom sees fewer deaths than 51% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Its two care homes for older people (246 places) count their residents as Riom’s; allowing for them, deaths were 12% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 1,861 deaths locally from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,848, 1% fewer. In Puy-de-Dôme, women can expect to live 85.6 years and men 79.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 18 GPs practise in the town.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw99
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
18
GPs in Riom · 4.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Riom
7.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Estaing Chu Clermont Ferrand
85.6 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Puy-de-Dôme, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
90.9% of candidates passed the brevet at the five collèges within 5 km, 2.1 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 86% passed the bac pro, of 296 candidates at 2 lycées. Its collèges and lycées rank #13 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme on results.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Chapelle Saint-Don: Photo: Patrick Boyer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hôtel Forget: Photo: Père Igor · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Notre-Dame du Marthuret: Photo: Aavitus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hôtel Arnoux de Maison-Rouge: Photo: Sylenius · CC BY-SA 3.0
Alan Stivell: Jérémy Kergourlay, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hubert Fournier: G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles-Gilbert Romme: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Jacques de Sirmond: Jacques Lubin, Public domain · Michel Raynaud: Schmid, Renate, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eugène Rouher: Clément Lagriffe studio photo, Public domain
Riom’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 Riom
Is Riom safe?
It grades D for safety, #35 of 38 in Puy-de-Dôme. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 67 burglaries and 247 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Riom good?
They grade B−, better than 49% of compared French towns and #13 of 41 in Puy-de-Dôme. The lycée stands out: 100% of 80 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général privé Sainte-Marie 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 Riom expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Riom grades A− for cost of living.
About Riom
Commune in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Riom is a commune of 18,820 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Riom Limagne et Volcans. 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
Population
18,820 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Riom Limagne et Volcans
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.
