Schools do well: brevet results 8 points above the expected rate. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (A+): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for health and B for walkability. 16% of its homes are second homes.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023. Couches 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 Couches 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A+
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Couches than in Saône-et-Loire’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.07/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Homes sold for a median €983/m², below Saône-et-Loire’s towns (€1,438/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. Between July 2023 and June 2026, buyers took 57 homes in Couches.
€983/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Couches€983/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Saône-et-Loire median€1,438/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€983/m²
57
€8.07/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.31 to €10.30/m² a month)
2.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.69/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,170
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Grand Autunois Morvan
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Couches has fewer young adults than Saône-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 6.8% are 15 to 24
Those 65 and older account for a third of residents. 13% are under 15, below Saône-et-Loire’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%) alike. Typical age in Couches: 54.8, the median.
54.8median age
CouchesSaône-et-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
33%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education33%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Saône-et-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Old homes shape Couches: 37% were built before 1919, more than in Saône-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Couches has 2 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé). Its oldest listed monument dates from the 12th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income A
Couches has lower unemployment than Saône-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 5.8%
At the census, 9.0% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below Saône-et-Loire’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. Per resident in work, Couches counts 0.9 jobs (450 jobs, 500 workers). Median disposable income comes to €26,080 a year per consumption unit.
9%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving84%
On foot7%
Bicycle1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
450
jobs based in Couches, 0.9 per working resident
5.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,080
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 55% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Adjusted for age and care homes, Couches sees fewer deaths than 51% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Couches is Fondation Hotel Dieu du Creusot, 7.4 mi away. France’s death rates at each age would predict 248 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 318, 28% more. Its care home for older people (83 places) counts its residents as Couches’; allowing for it, deaths were 12% below expected. Average lifespans in Saône-et-Loire: 85.5 years for women, 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw128
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
3
GPs in Couches · 2.4 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Fondation Hotel Dieu du Creusot
7.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Fondation Hotel Dieu du Creusot
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Saône-et-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Château de Marguerite de Bourgogne: Photo: Bh.souzani · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maison dite des Templiers: Photo: photography taken by Christophe.Finot · CC BY-SA 3.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Couches
Is Couches safe?
Couches has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.7 recorded violent incidents and 7.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Are schools in Couches good?
They grade A+, better than 99% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Couches expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Couches grades A+ for cost of living.
About Couches
Commune in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Couches is a commune of 1,213 people in the Communauté de communes du Grand Autunois Morvan. 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.
