Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has a population of 1,960. People aged 65 and over make up 29% of residents.
Cost of living is its strong suit: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools are another plus (A−) — bac results 1.5 points below the expected rate; brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. Work and incomes lag (D): 0.3 jobs per working resident; 9.4% unemployment. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 33% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 4% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Sornay 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 Sornay 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.
Sornay has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The 2 things Sornay does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Sornay as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Hôtel du Commerce, in Louhans-Châteaurenaud, 2 mi away.
16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Nothing in Sornay is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sornay.
The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €23,910 a year per consumption unit. 4.1% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, lower than both Saône-et-Loire’s towns (13.8%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Also worth knowing: the jobless rate is 9.4%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,565/m²: 68 houses and apartments sold in Sornay between July 2023 and June 2026. The sales split: 99% houses, the rest apartments.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,538/m² | 67 |
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.
The closest collège is 1.6 mi off.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Henri VincenotNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 132 | 92%+2 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Henri VincenotNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 141 | 99%+2 pts |
| Collège Notre Dame PrivateBest against expectations: 2 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 40 | 95%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Sornay records 80 deaths per 100 expected, below Saône-et-Loire’s towns (86) and compared French towns (88) alike. France’s death rates at each age would predict 213 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 170, 20% fewer. Average lifespans in Saône-et-Loire: 85.5 years for women, 78.9 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally.
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 care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C+ to A.
People 65 and over make up 29% of the town, near Saône-et-Loire’s towns (30%) and higher than compared French towns (22%). Aged 15 to 24: 7.8% of residents. Typical age in Sornay: 52.4, the median.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%.
| Sornay | Saône-et-Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.8% | 9.5% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 19% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 29% | 30% | 22% |
| No diploma | 31% | 25% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 35% | 31% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 15% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Saône-et-Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
Museums in and near Sornay. Best known first.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Sornay yet.
Commune in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Sornay is a commune of 1,960 people in the Communauté de communes Bresse Louhannaise Intercom'. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sornay | 1,960 | — | — | A | — | B+ |
| Louhans-Châteaurenaud | 6,446 | 2.5 | B | A− | C− | C+ |
| Ouroux-sur-Saône | 3,214 | 13 | — | B+ | — | B+ |
| Tournus | 5,701 | 14 | B | A− | D− | B− |
| Sennecey-le-Grand | 2,895 | 15 | A− | B+ | A | C |
| Montmorot Jura | 3,261 | 17 | B | B | C− | B |
| Saint-Marcel | 6,211 | 17 | A | B− | B+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Sornay has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 2.3 recorded violent incidents and 6.1 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A−, better than 78% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 99% of 141 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Henri Vincenot in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,565/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Sornay grades A for cost of living.
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 November 4, 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.