Val-Cenis’s strongest subject is jobs & income — 1.1 jobs per working resident; 1.3% unemployment. Add health to its strengths — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 20% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Housing is expensive: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Holiday and other second homes account for 78% of homes.
Figures: employment, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Val-Cenis 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 Val-Cenis 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 Val-Cenis.
HealthHealth B+
Deaths in Val-Cenis run below what its ages would predict: 80 per 100 expected, fewer than in both Savoie’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Savoie: 86.6 years for women, 81.2 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. France’s death rates at each age would predict 204 deaths in Val-Cenis from 2016 to 2025; there were 163, 20% fewer. The nearest emergency department to Val-Cenis is Antenne Smur Modane, 11.3 mi away. There are 6 general practitioners here.
−20%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw80
Adjusted80
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Val-Cenis · 6.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
11.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Antenne Smur Modane
24.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Bourg St Maurice
86.6 · 81.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Savoie, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Val-Cenis has lower unemployment than Savoie’s towns or compared French towns: 1.3%
The median disposable income was €28,700 a year per consumption unit, close to Savoie’s towns (€28,360) and above compared French towns (€25,970). At the census, 8.8% of working residents in Val-Cenis didn’t travel to work at all. Nearly a fifth of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving72%
On foot17%
Bicycle1%
Public transport1%
Motorbike or scooter0%
1,250
jobs based in Val-Cenis, 1.1 per working resident
1.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€28,700
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 71% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C
Renting in Val-Cenis costs less than in both Savoie’s towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €11.12/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median sale price was €3,636/m², near Savoie’s towns (€3,542/m²) and higher than compared French towns (€2,430/m²). Houses made up 10% of the homes sold; apartments the rest. Sales in Val-Cenis from July 2023 to June 2026: 177 houses and apartments.
€3,636/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Val-Cenis€3,636/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Savoie median€3,542/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Apartments
€3,640/m²
160
€11.12/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€6.85 to €18.02/m² a month)
9.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€13.01/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,050
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Haute Maurienne Vanoise
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Val-Cenis is rich in protected monuments: 57 per 10,000 residents, more than in both Savoie’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Val-Cenis counts 12 historic monuments: 7 classé at the top level of protection and 5 inscrit at the second. Among the classé monuments locally is Chapelle de la Visitation. Its oldest listed monument dates from the 15th century. Churches, chapels and other religious buildings, 8 of the 12, make up the bulk.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Few people in Val-Cenis are 15 to 24: 7.6%, fewer than in both Savoie’s towns and compared French towns
People 65 and over make up a quarter of the town, above Savoie’s towns (22%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. Graduates make up 36% of adults. Under-15s account for 16% of the population.
45.5median age
Val-CenisSavoie medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma12%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat22%
Higher education36%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Savoie 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Chapelle de la Visitation: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Saint-Michel: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chapelle Saint-Sébastien: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pierre à cupules dite Le Rocher aux Pieds: Photo: DMontagne en résidence · CC BY 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Val-Cenis
Is Val-Cenis safe?
Val-Cenis has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 4.4 recorded violent incidents and 9.8 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Val-Cenis expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Val-Cenis grades C for cost of living.
About Val-Cenis
Commune in Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Val-Cenis is a commune of 2,112 people in the Communauté de communes Haute Maurienne Vanoise. 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.
