More weak spots than strong ones. Its lowest grade is for safety (D−): an average of 11.2 recorded violent incidents and 29.3 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: 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 40% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Buying 70 m² at the median €2,861/m² takes 7.5 years of the median income per consumption unit in the Métropole de Lyon. All told, that adds up to a D− overall, better than 2% of compared French towns. Incomes are on the low side: 1.2 jobs per working resident; 18.7% unemployment.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, 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 Vaulx-en-Velin 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 Vaulx-en-Velin.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Money is tighter in Vaulx-en-Velin than in Rhône’s towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €18,700 a year per consumption unit
Unemployment stood at 18.7%, above both Rhône’s towns (8.1%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Also worth knowing: at the census, 2.3% of working residents in Vaulx-en-Velin didn’t travel to work at all.
40%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving57%
Public transport31%
On foot6%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter1%
21,850
jobs based in Vaulx-en-Velin, 1.2 per working resident
18.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€18,700
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
2%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 98% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Recorded crime per resident is higher in Vaulx-en-Velin than in 96% of compared French towns
For 2025, the figures show 2,140 offenses in Vaulx-en-Velin. Of the graded crimes here, theft from vehicles came up most often (2025).
11.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Theft from vehicles666
Criminal damage571
Other physical violence278
Vehicle theft219
Family violence218
Sexual violence91
Burglary82
Armed robbery15
Theft without violence872
Drug use445
Fraud309
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.
11.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
29.3
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,140
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Who lives here
Students and young workers shape Vaulx-en-Velin: 16% are 15 to 24, above Rhône’s towns and compared French towns
13% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Rhône’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). One measure of family life: 25% of residents are under 15. Half of Vaulx-en-Velin is older than 32.5, half younger.
32.5median age
Vaulx-en-VelinRhône medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma32%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
HousingCost of living D
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Vaulx-en-Velin than in Rhône’s towns or across compared French towns: €15.63/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €2,861/m²: 849 houses and apartments sold in Vaulx-en-Velin between July 2023 and June 2026. The split here: €3,294/m² for houses, €2,710/m² for apartments. Houses were 21% of what sold.
€2,861/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Vaulx-en-Velin€2,861/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Rhône median€3,666/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,294/m²
177
Apartments
€2,710/m²
672
€15.63/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€12.43 to €19.65/m² a month)
7.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.05/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€26,800
median annual income per consumption unit, Métropole de Lyon
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
More deaths than expected: Vaulx-en-Velin is above 71% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Rhône, women can expect to live 87.1 years and men 81.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. Ages and care homes taken into account, deaths in Vaulx-en-Velin come to 96 per 100 predicted. France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,745 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 2,828, 3% more.
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw103
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
45
GPs in Vaulx-en-Velin · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Medipole Hopital Mutualiste
1.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Medipole Hopital Mutualiste
87.1 · 81.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Rhône, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
1 historic monument in Vaulx-en-Velin, none of them classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 20th century. 0.9% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Rhône’s towns (8.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Vaulx-en-Velin
Is Vaulx-en-Velin safe?
It grades D− for safety, #100 of 107 in Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 82 burglaries and 571 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Vaulx-en-Velin good?
They grade C, better than 33% of compared French towns and #87 of 115 in Rhône. 76% of 260 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Robert Doisneau in 2025, 10 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Vaulx-en-Velin expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,861/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Vaulx-en-Velin grades D for cost of living.
About Vaulx-en-Velin
Commune in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Vaulx-en-Velin is a commune of 53,069 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
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.
