Jobs & income is its strong suit: 0.8 jobs per working resident; 5.5% unemployment. At the median price of €2,182/m², a 70 m² home costs 6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Chalon. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for health and C+ for walkability.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · 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. Fontaines 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 Fontaines 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 Fontaines.
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Fontaines than in Saône-et-Loire’s towns or compared French towns: 14% are under 15
Retirement age and beyond: 26% of residents are 65 or older. People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, about level with compared French towns (11%) and above Saône-et-Loire’s towns (9.5%). Among adults, 30% have a degree.
50.5median age
FontainesSaône-et-Loire medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
26%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma19%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education30%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Saône-et-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Old homes shape Fontaines: 27% were built before 1919, more than in both Saône-et-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from the 14th century. Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1991. Fontaines has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
1historic monument
Monuments by protection · Mérimée
Classé0
Inscrit1
14th c.
oldest protected part
1987
first monument protected
1991
protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable)
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living C+
The median home in Fontaines sells for €2,182/m², against €1,438/m² in Saône-et-Loire’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €11.46/m² a month, between Saône-et-Loire’s towns (€9.77/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The market in Fontaines: 46 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026. Houses were 89% of what sold.
€2,182/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Fontaines€2,182/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Saône-et-Loire median€1,438/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,211/m²
41
€11.46/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.22 to €14.24/m² a month)
6
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.65/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,440
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Chalon
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income A+
Unemployment in Fontaines, 5.5%, runs below Saône-et-Loire’s towns and compared French towns
Median disposable income comes to €29,460 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 7.9% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Saône-et-Loire’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving86%
Public transport4%
On foot2%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
650
jobs based in Fontaines, 0.8 per working resident
5.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€29,460
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
6%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 45% 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, Fontaines sees more deaths than 55% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 161 residents of Fontaines died, against 180 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 11% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Fontaines is Ch William Morey Chalon Sur Saone, 6.4 mi away. 2 GPs practise locally. Women in Saône-et-Loire live to 85.5 on average and men to 78.9 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw89
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Fontaines · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Ch William Morey Chalon Sur Saone
6.4 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Ch William Morey Chalon Sur Saone
85.5 · 78.9
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Saône-et-Loire, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Fontaines
Is Fontaines safe?
Fontaines has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.1 recorded violent incidents and 12.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Fontaines expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Fontaines grades C+ for cost of living.
About Fontaines
Commune in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Fontaines is a commune of 1,841 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Chalon. 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.
