Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 5,289 residents in Tarn-et-Garonne, Occitanie. Over-65s are 30% of the population.
Safety lags: an average of 13.6 recorded violent incidents and 17.7 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It also trails on jobs & income: 1.5 jobs per working resident; 15.2% unemployment. Housing is within reach (A−): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: two thirds of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 15% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade comes out at C, #14 of 16 in Tarn-et-Garonne. Nationally, it does better than 33% of compared French towns.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior).
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 Valence 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The 3 things Valence does most differently from other towns.
Valence has 4 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 17th century; the first monument here was protected in 1977.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Valence has 4 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
Deux lavoirs: Photo: Jean-Jacques Lasmolles · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Valence.
Jobs outnumber working residents in Valence (2,650 to 1,800): it draws people in from around. No compared town in Tarn-et-Garonne has more graded crime per resident than Valence: it ranks last of 16. In 2025, 131 offenses were recorded in the town. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of armed robbery and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 1.2% of the index here. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
At the census, 15.4% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Tarn-et-Garonne’s towns (8.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Households’ median disposable income: €22,400 a year per consumption unit.
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.
Valence is the second cheapest of the 17 towns in Tarn-et-Garonne, at €1,348/m². The estimated advertised rent is €9.84/m² a month, lower than both Tarn-et-Garonne’s towns (€10.67/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). 193 houses and apartments changed hands in the town from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,331/m² | 174 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
20% of adults hold a degree, below Tarn-et-Garonne’s towns (24%) and compared French towns (30%) alike. The share of residents under 15 is 15%. Half the people of Valence are older than 49.5.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Tarn-et-Garonne 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Valence | Tarn-et-Garonne median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 10% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 30% | 23% | 22% |
| No diploma | 30% | 22% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 26% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 20% | 24% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Tarn-et-Garonne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Tarn-et-Garonne, women can expect to live 86.1 years and men 79.3 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 931 deaths in Valence between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 830: 12% above. The nearest emergency department to Valence is Ch Intercommunal Castelsarrasin Moissac site Moissac, 9.7 mi away. 6 GPs practise here.
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 · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Its oldest listed monument dates from the 17th century. Just over a tenth of its homes were built before 1919, above both Tarn-et-Garonne’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pass rate near Valence is 91.3%, lower than both Tarn-et-Garonne’s towns (93.7%) and compared French towns (92.9%). School results put the town #8 of 11 in Tarn-et-Garonne.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Jean RostandNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 171 | 82%−4 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Jean BayletNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 93 | 97%+2 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Valence. Best known first.
4 notable people were born in Valence.
Jacques Briat: Guillaume Paumier (user:guillom), CC BY-SA 3.0
Commune in Tarn-et-Garonne, Occitanie
Valence is a commune of 5,289 people in the Communauté de communes des Deux Rives. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valence | 5,289 | — | C | A− | C− | C |
| Moissac | 13,419 | 10 | C+ | B | C+ | B |
| Layrac Lot-et-Garonne | 4,010 | 12 | A | B+ | A | B |
| Castelsarrasin | 14,343 | 12 | C− | B− | C | B− |
| Bon-Encontre Lot-et-Garonne | 6,530 | 13 | A− | B− | A− | B |
| Boé Lot-et-Garonne | 5,846 | 13 | B+ | C+ | B− | B |
| Pont-du-Casse Lot-et-Garonne | 4,191 | 14 | A | B | C+ | A− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades C− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 17 burglaries and 48 acts of criminal damage.
They grade C+, better than 41% of compared French towns and #8 of 11 in Tarn-et-Garonne. The lycée stands out: 97% of 93 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Jean Baylet 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.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Valence 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.