Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 19,285 residents in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Safety is its weak spot: an average of 12 recorded violent incidents and 24.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It is easy to get around without a car (A+): 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 34% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,385/m² takes 6.2 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Métropole de Lyon. Health is another plus: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 24% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, better than a quarter of compared French towns. That places it #95 of 107 in Rhône. The local economy is weaker than most: 1.2 jobs per working resident; 18.0% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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.
The 2 things Saint-Fons does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Saint-Fons 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Saint-Fons as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Monument aux morts de la communauté italienne, in Lyon, 2.4 mi away.
2.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Museums, heritage and gardens in and near Saint-Fons. Best known first.
MuseumMusée des Confluences4.4 km northwest, in Lyon 2e
MuseumInstitut Lumière4.5 km north, in Lyon 8e
Art galleryLa Sucrière5 km northwest, in Lyon 2e
AquariumAquarium de Lyon4.2 km northwest, in La Mulatière
GardenParc Sergent Blandan4.5 km north, in Lyon 7e
MuseumMusée urbain Tony Garnier3.2 km north, in Lyon 8ePhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Saint-Fons.
Unemployment stood at 18.0%, above both Rhône’s towns (8.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). On foot, by bike or by bus and train: that was how a third of commuters travelled at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
The graded crime recorded most in Saint-Fons was criminal damage (2025). 587 offenses were reported in Saint-Fons during 2025. With 8,350 jobs for 6,900 working residents, Saint-Fons draws people in from neighbouring communes.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of armed robbery go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 0.2% 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.
Retirement age and beyond: 14% of residents are 65 or older. People aged 15 to 24 make up 13% of the town, higher than both Rhône’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Graduates make up 21% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
| Saint-Fons | Rhône median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 25% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 20% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 14% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 34% | 15% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 22% | 21% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 21% | 41% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Weighed against its ages and care homes, Saint-Fons records 76 deaths per 100 expected. 1,165 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,346: 13% below. Average lifespans in Rhône: 87.1 years for women, 81.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. This Rhône town has 7 family doctors.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The adjustment for care homes is TownRatings’ own modeling, not an official figure.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €13.94/m² a month, below Rhône’s towns (€14.83/m²) but above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses in Saint-Fons sell for €3,362/m² and apartments for €2,158/m². House rents are put at about €14.18/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €3,362/m² | 66 |
| Apartments | €2,158/m² | 251 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Vocational results within 5 km: 83% passed the bac pro, of 1,410 candidates at 15 lycées. On school results, the town ranks #70 of 115 in Rhône.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Paul ÉluardNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 164 | 72%−3 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Jacques BrelNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 234 | 76%−11 pts |
| Collège Marcel PagnolBest against expectations: 16 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 68 | 100%+16 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Saint-Fons is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
5 notable people were born in Saint-Fons.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Fons | 19,285 | — | C | C | D | A− |
| Vénissieux | 65,502 | 0.9 | D | C− | D− | C+ |
| Lyon 8e | 85,943 | 2.1 | D | D | D | B |
| Feyzin | 10,304 | 2.4 | C− | C− | C− | A− |
| Oullins-Pierre-Bénite | 38,168 | 2.4 | C+ | D | C | B+ |
| Irigny | 9,034 | 2.7 | B | D | C+ | B+ |
| La Mulatière | 6,534 | 2.8 | C | C− | D | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D for safety, #91 of 107 in Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 43 burglaries and 174 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 44% of compared French towns and #70 of 115 in Rhône. 76% of 234 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Jacques Brel in 2025, 11 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Saint-Fons grades C for cost of living.
Commune in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Saint-Fons is a commune of 19,285 people in the Métropole de Lyon. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.