School results trail most towns (D): bac results 4 points below the expected rate; brevet results 4 points below the expected rate. Work and incomes lag (D): 1.5 jobs per working resident; 19.1% unemployment. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 33% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Cost of living is another plus — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 3.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. All told, that adds up to a C overall, better than 28% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting and employment, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education.
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 Belfort 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.
Château, actuellement musée d'Art et d'Histoire, et enceinte urbaine: Photo: Thomas Bresson · CC BY 2.0 · Petite fontaine: Photo: Thomas Bresson · CC BY 3.0 · Église Saint-Christophe: Photo: Thomas Bresson · CC BY 3.0 · Lion sculpté par Bartholdi: Photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST · CC BY 3.0
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Belfort.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Belfort has higher unemployment than Territoire de Belfort’s towns or compared French towns: 19.1%
33%walk, cycle or take transit
Half of residents lived on more than €20,930 a year per consumption unit, below Territoire de Belfort’s towns (€25,210) and compared French towns (€25,970) alike. No commute at all: 4.6% of working residents here at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving62%
On foot14%
Public transport14%
Bicycle5%
Motorbike or scooter1%
25,750
jobs based in Belfort, 1.5 per working resident
19.1%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,930
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 98% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Schools
Exam results around Belfort trail 87% of compared French towns
92%passed the bac (general and technological)DSchool Grade
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The bac pro: 80% of 335 candidates passed at the 3 vocational lycées within 5 km. Near Belfort, 89.6% of lycée candidates passed the bac, near Territoire de Belfort’s towns (89.6%) and lower than compared French towns (92.9%). At the five general lycées, 92% of 1,190 candidates passed the bac, 3.8 points below the expected rate.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living A−
Homes in Belfort cost less than in Territoire de Belfort’s towns or across compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,275/m²
€1,275/m²median sale price
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €10.43/m² a month, near Territoire de Belfort’s towns (€10.70/m²) and lower than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Apartments in Belfort sell for €1,240/m², houses for €1,645/m². This Territoire de Belfort town recorded 1,894 home sales from July 2023 to June 2026.
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Belfort€1,275/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Territoire de Belfort median€1,403/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,645/m²
268
Apartments
€1,240/m²
1,626
€10.43/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.21 to €13.25/m² a month)
3.5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.56/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,260
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Grand Belfort
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Belfort records more crime per resident than three in four compared French towns
12.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC−Safety Grade
The police record for Belfort lists 1,320 offenses in 2025. The town comes 9th of the 10 compared towns in Territoire de Belfort on the Safety Grade. Graded property crimes ran at 15.2 per 1,000 residents a year, and violence against people at 12.9 (2023–2025 average). It has 25,750 jobs for 17,150 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work.
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage550
Family violence247
Other physical violence232
Sexual violence107
Theft from vehicles93
Burglary56
Vehicle theft35
Theft without violence460
Drug use235
Fraud218
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.
12.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
15.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,320
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · When armed robbery number five or fewer in a recent year, the figure is withheld, and the index uses the département’s average instead (0.1% of the index here). The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. 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.
History
21 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
21historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The earliest of these monuments dates from prehistory. Among the classé monuments in Belfort is Château, actuellement musée d'Art et d'Histoire, et enceinte urbaine. This Territoire de Belfort town has 4.6 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Territoire de the town’s towns (2) and compared French towns (2.5).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C
Belfort has a higher adjusted death rate than 67% of compared French towns
−6%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 4,141 residents of Belfort died, against 4,066 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% more. Its four care homes for older people (295 places) count their residents as Belfort’s; allowing for them, deaths were 6% below expected. 40 GPs practise here. At birth, a girl in Territoire de Belfort can expect 85 years and a boy 79.4 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw102
Adjusted94
Median town88
Expected100
40
GPs in Belfort · 3.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
4.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hnfc site Trevenans
4.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hnfc site Trevenans
85 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Territoire de Belfort, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
A young town: 17% of people in Belfort are 15 to 24, more than in Territoire de Belfort’s towns or compared French towns
37.1median age
People 65 and over make up 18% of the town, below Territoire de Belfort’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%) alike. At 37.1, the median resident of Belfort sits in the middle of the age range. Among adults, 31% have a degree.
BelfortTerritoire de Belfort medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma24%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education31%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About an even split. Median share of women: Territoire de Belfort 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Étienne Mattler: Le Miroir des sports, Public domain · Jules Brunet: Unidentified photographer, Public domain · Sanjin Prcić: S. Plaine, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Augustin Dubail: Unknown (Bain News Service, publisher), Public domain · Oscar de Négrier: Unknown photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maxence Prévot: Kb25130, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Belfort
Commune in Territoire de Belfort, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Belfort is a commune of 45,912 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Grand Belfort. 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
Population
45,912 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération Grand Belfort
Département
Territoire de Belfort (90)
Région
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Area
6.7 sq mi (17.3 km²)
INSEE code
90010
Belfort’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Belfort
Is Belfort safe?
It grades C− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 56 burglaries and 550 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Belfort good?
They grade D, better than 13% of compared French towns and #4 of 11 in Territoire de Belfort. The lycée stands out: 100% of 161 candidates passed the bac at Lycée général et technologique privé Sainte-Marie in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Belfort expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Belfort grades A− for cost of living.
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.
