Living in Besançon
In Besançon, rents across existing tenancies average €9.40 per m² a month (2023) and unemployment is 14.8% (2022).
The unemployment rate was 14.8% at the end of 2022. Besançon had a population of 118,489 at the start of 2023. For Besançon, a city-level estimate placed average net cold rent at €9.4 per m² per month at the start of 2023.
Cheaper rent than 80% of French cities that publish it, higher unemployment than 77% of French cities that publish it and more recorded crime than 83% of French cities that publish it.
Which France-wide rules apply when you move to Besançon?
National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.
Housing and cost
How much does it cost to rent in Besançon?
Average net cold rent is 9.4 EUR/m² per month (January 2023), excluding heating and operating charges.
Published average over existing tenancies; a specific flat can sit either side of it. Asking-rent series, where present, are separate rows in the table.
- Average net rent (nettokalt): 9.4 EUR/m²/month · Official city-level rent observatory/statistics source30
Supplemental estimate lane, not official statistics: Utilities, 85 m² flat, Transport pass, Fitness club, Internet, 60 Mbps. The others are published prices.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness club membership, monthly | 48.76 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v229Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited | 24.88 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v229Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurant | 13.93 EUR | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v229Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Mobile plan, 10 GB | 19.99 EUR/month | 30 Sept 2026 | Orange 100GB mobile plan22Official · national market |
| Monthly transport pass | 27.86 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v229Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Basic utilities, 85 m² home | 99.51 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v229Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context |
| Housing vacancy rate (legacy series) | 6,931 % | 31 Dec 2023 | INSEE9Official |
| Dwellings | 73,009 dwellings | 31 Dec 2023 | INSEE10Official |
| Main residence dwellings | 64,220 dwellings | 31 Dec 2023 | INSEE10Official |
| Housing vacancy rate | 9.49 % | 31 Dec 2023 | Logement en 2023 - Commune - France hors Mayotte16Official |
| Residential property price per m² | 2,253 EUR/m² | 31 Jul 2025 | Statistiques DVF — sales and median price per m² by period and geographic scale26Official |
| Average net rent (nettokalt) | 9.4 EUR/m²/monthcountry median €11.60 | 1 Jan 2023 | Official city-level rent observatory/statistics source30Independent |
Is Besançon a good place to live?
There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.
Worked out from these numbers
What does a 60 m² flat cost?
About 564 EUR a month in cold rent at the published average of 9.4 EUR/m² per month, before heating and operating charges.
Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Besançon?
The unemployment rate is about 14.8 % (2022).
- Unemployment rate: 14.84 % · INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune13
Besançon 14.8%
Unemployment rate (%)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibre-to-the-building availability | 95.4 % | 3 Aug 2026 | Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse)3Official |
| Gigabit broadband availability | 96.31 % | 31 Mar 2026 | Independent ARCEP municipal count of premises eligible for the >=1 Gbit/s fixed advertised-speed class, divided by the ARCEP type=all municipal premises denominator. This is availability/eligibility, not adoption, measured speed, FTTH-only coverage or mobile coverage.8Official |
| Median gross salary (regional) | 2,580 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | www.insee.fr28Official |
| Unemployment rate | 14.84 %country median 11.0% | 31 Dec 2022 | INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune13Official |
Unemployment rate fell 13.4% between 2013 and 2022, from 17.1% to 14.8%.
What does a salary buy in Besançon?
Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.
RentUtilitiesTransportInternetMobileLeft over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
| Each month | € |
|---|---|
| Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions. | €1,967 |
| Rent, 60 m²€9.40/m² · official · Official city-level rent observatory/statistics source · 2023-01-01 | − €564 |
| Public transport pass€28 · market price · Global Cost of Living · 2022-12-31 | − €28 |
| Utilities, 85 m²€100 · market price · Global Cost of Living · 2022-12-31 | − €100 |
| Internet€25 · market price · Global Cost of Living · 2022-12-31 | − €25 |
| Mobile plan€20 · official · Orange 100GB mobile plan · 2026-09-30 | − €20 |
| Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish | €1,231 |
Public employment service
No exact public employment office is currently linked to Besançon. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.
France Travail — Public employment service
Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Besançon. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Family and education
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | 110 schools | 27 May 2026 | RNEE exact Code_commune; etat=OUVERT; code_nature 100-199 or 300-399; unique UAI count.24Official · commune |
| Primary schools | 70 count | 3 Aug 2026 | Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr)18Official |
| Schools | 130 count | 3 Aug 2026 | Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr)18Official |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 3 to 16. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: UPE2A (unités pédagogiques pour élèves allophones nouvellement arrivés) + UPE2A-NSA variant. How to enrol a child (education.gouv.fr).
A country-wide rule for France; Besançon's school authority applies it locally.
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.
Healthcare
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care doctors per 100,000 residents | 132.5 per 100,000 people | 31 Dec 2024 | INSEE BPE 2024 commune equipment and PMUN denominator evidence11Official |
| GP practices | 50 count | 16 Sept 2026 | Annuaire Santé — RPPS authorized-practice extract2Official |
| Hospital beds per 100,000 residents | 1,325 beds per 100,000 | 31 Dec 2011 | DREES / DGOS – Statistique Annuelle des Établissements de Santé (SAE) 20114Official |
| Hospitals | 16 count | 4 May 2026 | FINESS Extraction du fichier des établissements6Official |
| Pharmacies | 40 count | 4 May 2026 | FINESS Extraction du fichier des établissements6Official |
| Physicians per 100,000 residents | 132.5 per 100,000 | 31 Dec 2024 | INSEE BPE 2024 commune equipment and PMUN denominator evidence11Official |
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Besançon when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.
Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.
Open the official coverage guideSafety
How safe is Besançon?
Police recorded about 6,646 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026)7
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglaries per 100,000 residents | 283.4 incidents per 100,000 | 31 Dec 2025 | FR-SSMSI-communal-20257Official |
| Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents | 6,646 incidents per 100,000country median 4,740 | 31 Dec 2025 | Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026)7Official |
| Violent crime per 100,000 residents | 1,375 incidents per 100,000 | 31 Dec 2025 | FR-SSMSI-communal-20257Official |
Mobility and administration
Language courses and integration
No exact city-level course record is currently published for Besançon. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.
Contrat d’intégration républicaine (CIR) — Integration course
État français and OFII
For eligible non-EU foreign residents.
DIAN language-training offer finder — Other
Réseau des Carif-Oref and DIAN
For people seeking French-language training.
Climate and air quality
Average high temperatures were 5.8°C in January and 25.7°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 89.7 mm in January and 88.8 mm in July. Annual PM2.5 was 7.12 µg/m³ in 2024.
Is the air quality good in Besançon?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.1 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.
Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.
- PM2.5 — annual mean: 7.12 µg/m³ · 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation.1
Night-time low to daytime high
mm
hours
Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³
City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.
Besançon 7.1
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO₂ — annual mean | 12.65 µg/m³country median 14.8 | 2024 | 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation.1Official |
| NO₂ — latest reading | 12.45 µg/m³ | 15 Jul 2026 | Latest valid NO2 hourly station observation on the official LCSQA E2 current-day extract, mapped to the exact INSEE centre through an exact normalized station-name crosswalk to EEA station metadata.15Official |
| PM10 — annual mean | 11.68 µg/m³country median 14.2 | 2024 | 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation.1Official |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 7.12 µg/m³country median 8.5 | 2024 | 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation.1Official |
| Average daytime high by month | Jan 5.8 · Feb 7.6 · Mar 12.1 · Apr 16.1 · May 19.9 · Jun 23.6 · Jul 25.7 · Aug 25.5 · Sep 21 · Oct 16.1 · Nov 10 · Dec 6.4 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | Météo-France climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, BESANCON, 1991-202017Official |
| Average night-time low by month | Jan 0.1 · Feb 0.2 · Mar 3 · Apr 5.6 · May 9.4 · Jun 12.9 · Jul 14.7 · Aug 14.5 · Sep 11.1 · Oct 7.7 · Nov 3.5 · Dec 0.9 °C | 31 Dec 2020 | Météo-France climate normal — mean monthly minimum air temperature, BESANCON, 1991-202017Official |
| Average temperature by month | Jan 2.9 · Feb 3.9 · Mar 7.5 · Apr 10.8 · May 14.6 · Jun 18.2 · Jul 20.2 · Aug 20 · Sep 16 · Oct 11.9 · Nov 6.7 · Dec 3.7 °C | 1991–2020 | WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BESANCON27Official · nearest-station reading |
| Average precipitation by month | Jan 89.7 · Feb 81.2 · Mar 85 · Apr 86.6 · May 107.9 · Jun 97.5 · Jul 88.8 · Aug 96.1 · Sep 100.7 · Oct 111.7 · Nov 106.5 · Dec 105.3 mm | 31 Dec 2020 | Météo-France climate normal — mean monthly precipitation, BESANCON, 1991-202017Official |
| Average sunshine by month | Jan 68.38 · Feb 96.82 · Mar 152.8 · Apr 183.8 · May 208 · Jun 230.8 · Jul 248.7 · Aug 237.2 · Sep 183.6 · Oct 131.6 · Nov 74.88 · Dec 56.15 hours | 31 Dec 2020 | Météo-France climate normal — mean monthly sunshine duration, BESANCON, 1991-202017Official |
Annual PM2.5 fell 49.1% between 2014 and 2024, from 14.0 to 7.1.
Population and city profile
How many people live in Besançon?
The published population was 118,489 people in January 2023. Source: INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune12
By nationality
National passport89.7%
Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| City area | 65.05 km² | 31 Dec 2026 | Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte25Official |
| Foreign-resident share | 11 % | 31 Dec 2022 | Eurostat5Official |
| Foreign residents | 12,240 people | 2021 | Nationalité en 2021 — Base des tableaux détaillés — NAT120Official |
| Population density | 1,822 people/km² | 31 Dec 2023 | Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte25Official |
| Population | 118,489 people | 1 Jan 2023 | INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune12Official |
Foreign residents rose 29.4% between 2009 and 2022, from 10,179 to 13,173.
International community in Besançon
Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.
Citizenship
Population resident in France excluding Mayotte; INSEE RP2023 NAT; total age and sex · 2023 Census
| Published group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 118,489 | 100.0% |
| Français | 105,062.05 | 88.7% |
| Etranger | 13,426.95 | 11.3% |
Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source14
Additional context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 1 count | 3 Aug 2026 | Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr)19Official |
Alternatives for people set on Besançon
Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.
Boulogne-Billancourt as a Besançon alternative in the same country
A move, not a commute, at 332 km, better on 4 of 6 metrics measured the same way, worse on 2. Rent cannot be compared like for like.
- Unemployment: 8.6% Boulogne-Billancourt vs 14.8% Besançon−42%
- Median gross pay, region: €3,317 Boulogne-Billancourt vs €2,580 Besançon+29%
- Rent: €29.73/m² (2025) Boulogne-Billancourt vs €9.40/m² (2023) Besançonno percentage
- Nearest airport: 7.0 km Boulogne-Billancourt vs 50.0 km Besançon−86%
- Recorded crime, per 100k: 5,479 Boulogne-Billancourt vs 6,646 Besançon−18%
- Empty flats: 7.2% Boulogne-Billancourt vs 9.5% Besançon−24%
- Basic utilities, 85 m²: €135 Boulogne-Billancourt vs €100 Besançon+36%
Alternative cities in France
Other cities in France to compare with Besançon, nearest in population first.
How does Besançon compare?
Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Besançon's.
Besançon in rankings
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
How many people live in Besançon?
The published population was 118,489 people in January 2023. Source: INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune.
How much does it cost to rent in Besançon?
Average net cold rent is 9.4 EUR/m² per month (January 2023), excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about 658 EUR a month before utilities. Source: Official city-level rent observatory/statistics source.
Is the air quality good in Besançon?
The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.1 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation..
How safe is Besançon?
Police recorded about 6,646 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Base statistique communale de la délinquance enregistrée par la police et la gendarmerie nationales, 2025 (géographie 2026).
What is the unemployment rate in Besançon?
The unemployment rate is about 14.8 % (2022). Source: INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune.
What is the typical salary around Besançon?
The median gross salary is 2,580 EUR/month. Source: www.insee.fr.
Is Besançon a good place to live?
Besançon may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.
How many people are in the Français citizenship group in Besançon?
The official citizenship distribution records 105,062.05 people (88.7%) in the source-defined population for 2023 Census. This is a citizenship measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Besançon, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 800ede71ad76e2c928373b6d25d97c0f]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/besancon/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_besancon-france-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_3144e290c8de,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Besançon, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
version = {800ede71ad76e2c928373b6d25d97c0f},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/besancon/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Besançon, France: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/fr/besancon/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 800ede71ad76e2c928373b6d25d97c0f; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
- 2024 validated hourly NO2 station observations transformed to the exact INSEE commune centre by deterministic nearest-station selection and equal-weight aggregation. air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-15
- Annuaire Santé — RPPS authorized-practice extract Annuaire Santé · data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-09-16
- Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse) data.arcep.fr · checked 2026-08-03
- DREES / DGOS – Statistique Annuelle des Établissements de Santé (SAE) 2011 data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-02
- FINESS Extraction du fichier des établissements data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-09-15
- FR-SSMSI-communal-2025 static.data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-09-15
- Independent ARCEP municipal count of premises eligible for the >=1 Gbit/s fixed advertised-speed class, divided by the ARCEP type=all municipal premises denominator. This is availability/eligibility, not adoption, measured speed, FTTH-only coverage or mobile coverage. data.arcep.fr · checked 2026-03-31
- INSEE insee.fr · checked 2026-08-07
- INSEE insee.fr · checked 2026-08-07
Show 20 more sources
- INSEE BPE 2024 commune equipment and PMUN denominator evidence insee.fr · checked 2026-07-16
- INSEE populations légales 2023 par commune insee.fr · checked 2026-07-26
- INSEE RP2022 ACT1 — population active by type of activity, commune INSEE RP2022 ACT1 · insee.fr · checked 2026-07-26
- Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), France api.insee.fr · checked 2026-08-30
- Latest valid NO2 hourly station observation on the official LCSQA E2 current-day extract, mapped to the exact INSEE centre through an exact normalized station-name crosswalk to EEA station metadata. files.data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-07-15
- Logement en 2023 - Commune - France hors Mayotte insee.fr · checked 2026-09-17
- Météo-France climate normal — mean monthly maximum air temperature, BESANCON, 1991-2020 Météo-France climate normal · meteofrance.com · checked 2026-07-27
- Ministère de l'Éducation nationale (data.education.gouv.fr) data.education.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
- Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr) data.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-03
- Nationalité en 2021 — Base des tableaux détaillés — NAT1 Nationalité en 2021 · insee.fr · checked 2026-07-15
- OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
- Orange 100GB mobile plan boutique.orange.fr · checked 2026-09-15
- OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
- RNEE exact Code_commune; etat=OUVERT; code_nature 100-199 or 300-399; unique UAI count. data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-07-16
- Séries historiques en 2023 — Recensement de la population, base des principaux indicateurs, communes de France hors Mayotte Séries historiques en 2023 · insee.fr · checked 2026-09-24
- Statistiques DVF — sales and median price per m² by period and geographic scale Statistiques DVF · data.gouv.fr · checked 2026-08-27
- WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BESANCON WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
- www.insee.fr insee.fr · checked 2026-08-27
- Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27
- Official city-level rent observatory/statistics source observatoires-des-loyers.org · checked 2026-07-26
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.