Several subjects drag its grade down. Its weakest is safety: an average of 9.5 recorded violent incidents and 28.6 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: 100% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 63% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Add health to its strengths: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 19% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At €3,595/m², the median price, 70 m² costs 9.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Métropole de Lyon. All told, that adds up to a C− overall and a rank of #97 of 107 in Rhône. It comes out better than 17% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, 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.
Each subject compares Villeurbanne 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 Villeurbanne.
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Villeurbanne is easier to get around on foot than 99% of compared French towns
Half of residents lived on more than €24,160 a year per consumption unit, lower than both Rhône’s towns (€30,220) and compared French towns (€25,970). Of those in the labour force, 13.0% are unemployed. Jobs based in Villeurbanne number 69,100, against 73,950 residents in work (0.9 per worker).
63%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Public transport41%
Driving33%
On foot11%
Bicycle11%
Motorbike or scooter1%
69,100
jobs based in Villeurbanne, 0.9 per working resident
13.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,160
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 almost every compared French town
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Villeurbanne sees more crime per resident than 94% of compared French towns
6,614 offenses were reported in Villeurbanne during 2025. More of the graded crimes here were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
9.5recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage2,425
Theft from vehicles1,660
Other physical violence624
Family violence597
Burglary522
Vehicle theft463
Sexual violence277
Armed robbery46
Theft without violence3,022
Drug use1,556
Fraud1,500
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.
9.5
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
28.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
6,614
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.
HousingCost of living D
Estimated advertised rents run higher in Villeurbanne 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.
The split in Villeurbanne: €4,195/m² for houses, €3,574/m² for apartments. The median price, €3,595/m², comes from 5,650 sales of houses and apartments here from July 2023 to June 2026. Among the homes sold, 4% were houses.
€3,595/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Villeurbanne€3,595/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Rhône median€3,666/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,195/m²
250
Apartments
€3,574/m²
5,400
€15.63/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€12.52 to €19.51/m² a month)
9.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.69/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
Who lives here
Villeurbanne skews young, with 19% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in both Rhône’s towns and compared French towns
Children under 15 make up 16%, lower than Rhône’s towns (19%) and near compared French towns (17%). Those 65 and older account for 14% of residents. 49% of adults hold a degree.
32.3median age
VilleurbanneRhône medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
19%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma16%
CAP or BEP15%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education49%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
HealthHealth B+
Allowing for age and care homes, Villeurbanne sees 81 deaths per 100 expected, against 76 in Rhône’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy at birth in Rhône is 87.1 years for women and 81.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 10,501 deaths in Villeurbanne from 2016 to 2025; there were 9,407, 10% fewer. For a family doctor, residents of Villeurbanne can choose among 142 GPs.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw90
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
142
GPs in Villeurbanne · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Medipole Hopital Mutualiste
1.2 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
3 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2010
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
2.4% of its homes were built before 1919, lower than both Rhône’s towns (8.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%). A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) has covered part of the town since 2010. The protected list starts in the 20th century.
3historic monuments
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé0
Inscrit3
20th c.
oldest protected part
1991
first monument protected
2010
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
Florent Manaudou: Oleg Bkhambri (Voltmetro), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Willem Geubbels: Laura Jonin, CC BY 2.0 · Clément Venturini: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick, CC BY-SA 3.0 · André Giriat: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain
Villeurbanne’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 Villeurbanne
Is Villeurbanne safe?
It grades D for safety, #94 of 107 in Rhône. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 522 burglaries and 2,425 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Villeurbanne good?
They grade B−, better than 49% of compared French towns and #63 of 115 in Rhône. 90% of 320 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Gilberte et Pierre Brossolette in 2025, 3 points below the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Villeurbanne expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €3,595/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Villeurbanne grades D for cost of living.
About Villeurbanne
Commune in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Villeurbanne is a commune of 163,684 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.
