The best places to live for a family
Schools, setting, healthcare, culture and safety — weighted as parents say they matter.
Towns of more than 5,000 residents.
Weights: schools 18 %, access to GPs 16 %, access to culture 16 %, safety 14 %, nature 11 %, access to everyday shops 10 %, public transport 8 %, cool summers 7 % (Ifop, October 2025: 1,000 parents on what makes a town good for families; everyday shops added for a tenth (outside the survey’s scope)).
Each criterion is scored on its actual figures, across all of France.
Sources: French Ministry of Education 2025, INSEE, SSMSI, IGN and OpenStreetMap 2025, GTFS, Météo-France 1995-2024, DVF 2023-2025.
Updated 2 November 2026.
1Bouc-Bel-AirBouches-du-Rhône · 4,704 €/m²65.0/100strength : schools, health
2Aix-en-ProvenceBouches-du-Rhône · 4,833 €/m²65.0/100strength : shops, health
3VenellesBouches-du-Rhône · 4,951 €/m²62.0/100strength : schools, shops
30 towns the first of 83 ranked
- 1
Bouc-Bel-Air65.0/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,704 €/m²strength : schools, health - 2
Aix-en-Provence65.0/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,833 €/m²strength : shops, health - 3
Venelles62.0/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,951 €/m²strength : schools, shops - 4
Plan-de-Cuques60.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,689 €/m²strength : health, shops - 5
Saint-Cannat59.2/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,286 €/m²strength : health - 6
Velaux57.3/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,723 €/m²strength : schools - 7
Trets56.8/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,307 €/m²strength : schools, nature - 8
La Bouilladisse56.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,367 €/m²strength : health - 9
Fuveau56.0/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,107 €/m²strength : schools - 10
Lambesc56.0/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,518 €/m² - 11
Carnoux-en-Provence55.3/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,540 €/m²strength : health - 12
Simiane-Collongue55.2/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,756 €/m² - 13
Meyreuil55.2/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,487 €/m²strength : schools - 14
Gémenos54.8/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,109 €/m²strength : nature - 15
Grans54.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,450 €/m²strength : health - 16
Aubagne54.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône2,728 €/m²strength : health, shops - 17
Auriol54.6/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,158 €/m²strength : nature - 18
Roquevaire54.3/100Bouches-du-Rhône2,959 €/m²strength : nature - 19
Peypin54.3/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,938 €/m²strength : nature - 20
Ventabren53.8/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,343 €/m²strength : schools, nature - 21
Pélissanne53.5/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,454 €/m²strength : health - 22
Roquefort-la-Bédoule52.8/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,673 €/m²strength : health - 23
Éguilles52.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,807 €/m²strength : nature - 24
Peyrolles-en-Provence52.5/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,097 €/m²strength : nature - 25
Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade52.2/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,346 €/m² - 26
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence52.1/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,616 €/m²strength : shops - 27
Rousset51.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône4,226 €/m² - 28
Les Pennes-Mirabeau51.7/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,143 €/m²strength : health - 29
Cassis51.4/100Bouches-du-Rhône7,096 €/m² - 30
Gardanne51.2/100Bouches-du-Rhône3,219 €/m²strength : shops
Of the 83 towns in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and the Bouches-du-Rhône département with more than 5,000 residents, 83 have all the data this profile needs; the top 30 are listed above. The median flat price there is 3,259 €/m² (actual DVF sales).
The ranking rests on 8 criteriona — those that define this profile. Each row names the one that carries the town most; the town page gives the 7 others, dated and sourced — so that the rank does not hide the rest of life there.
What this ranking costs. The median price of the top 30 is 3,739 €/m², 15% more than all the towns considered. The cheapest in this ranking is Aubagne (2,728 €/m², no. 16) — where this profile costs least.
What this ranking does not say. The brevet measures the catchment collège, not the primary school your child will attend first. And healthcare is measured by access to GPs: parents think first of paediatricians, whom we cannot yet count.
Method
Each town is scored on its actual figures, across all of France (prices and rents against towns of a similar size), on the criteria of the “for a family” profile. Median prices come from DVF (France’s record of actual sale prices). Only towns with more than 5,000 residents are listed. Icioola hosts no listings and takes no commission.
Frequently asked questions
Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and the Bouches-du-Rhône département — “For a family” profile: which town comes first?
Bouc-Bel-Air comes first (15,381 residents), with a median price of 4,704 €/m². This rank holds for this profile (schools, access to GPs, access to culture, safety, nature, access to everyday shops, public transport, cool summers): another town may come first on another profile.
What exactly does the “For a family” profile cover?
8 criteria: schools, access to GPs, access to culture, safety, nature, access to everyday shops, public transport, cool summers. Each is scored on its actual value across all of France (0 to 100), then the scores are combined by geometric mean. In practice a weak point weighs more than a strength: a town excellent everywhere but on one criterion climbs far less than with a plain average. No payment influences the result, and no property listing is hosted.
Why is a town I know not listed?
Three possible reasons: it has fewer than 5,000 residents (the ranking threshold), or it ranks beyond the top 30. Its page exists all the same: every town in France has one.
Does this ranking take my budget and commute into account?
No — it is a general ranking. Budget and door-to-door commute are personal filters: they rule towns out rather than score them. The app recalculates this ranking with your own constraints, free and without an account.
Where do the figures come from?
The rank is computed from 8 public sources: the Ministry of Education (brevet results); INSEE’s permanent facilities database, as catchment access (GPs); INSEE’s permanent facilities database, as catchment access (cultural venues); SSMSI (offences recorded by the police and gendarmerie); IGN and OpenStreetMap (access to natural areas); INSEE’s permanent facilities database, as catchment access (everyday shops); transport timetables published as GTFS (peak-hour service); Météo-France (days above 30 °C and tropical nights, 30-year normal). The price shown on each row comes from the DVF database and is not part of the calculation. All these data are open and reusable; each figure’s year is shown on each town’s page. This page was regenerated on 2 November 2026.