2026 ranking · debt per inhabitant

The most indebted cities in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Q: Which city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has the most debt per inhabitant?

Vichy (Allier) is the most indebted city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with debt of €2,776 per inhabitant.

Vichy (Allier) is the most indebted city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with debt of €2,776 per inhabitant. Next come Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme, €1,768) and Grenoble (Isère, €1,735).

43 towns ranked out of 4,025

Vichy, 1^stThe next 19

The podium

Photos: © jean-louis Zimmermann, CC BY 2.0 · © Toutaitanous, CC BY-SA 3.0

This ranking covers 43 of the 4,025 towns in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. At the other end of the ranking, Givors (Rhône) comes last with €15.

In France, a commune is the smallest unit of local government, from large cities to tiny villages. Paris, Lyon and Marseille are ranked as whole communes: their arrondissements (districts) have no rank of their own.

The ranking: most indebted cities in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Rank	Town	Department	Debt per inhabitant (€)	Population
1	Vichy	Allier (03)	2,776	25,445
2	Romans-sur-Isère	Drôme (26)	1,768	34,176
3	Grenoble	Isère (38)	1,735	158,303
4	Albertville	Savoie (73)	1,612	20,463
5	Thonon-les-Bains	Haute-Savoie (74)	1,605	38,946
6	Chambéry	Savoie (73)	1,604	61,493
7	Caluire-et-Cuire	Rhône (69)	1,558	44,139
8	Saint-Priest	Rhône (69)	1,450	49,498
9	Saint-Étienne	Loire (42)	1,337	174,698
10	Montluçon	Allier (03)	1,287	34,107
11	Aix-les-Bains	Savoie (73)	1,257	32,944
12	Vaulx-en-Velin	Rhône (69)	1,205	53,281
13	Oullins-Pierre-Bénite	Rhône (69)	1,103	38,495
14	Annemasse	Haute-Savoie (74)	1,058	37,978
15	Vienne	Isère (38)	1,021	32,216
16	Tassin-la-Demi-Lune	Rhône (69)	1,019	23,514
17	Voiron	Isère (38)	986	22,415
18	Bourg-en-Bresse	Ain (01)	950	43,961
19	Valence	Drôme (26)	937	65,647
20	Roanne	Loire (42)	903	36,067
21	Clermont-Ferrand	Puy-de-Dôme (63)	875	148,795
22	Montélimar	Drôme (26)	857	41,752
23	Saint-Chamond	Loire (42)	847	36,065
24	Villefranche-sur-Saône	Rhône (69)	842	36,563
25	Aurillac	Cantal (15)	825	27,578
26	Rillieux-la-Pape	Rhône (69)	812	31,691
27	Échirolles	Isère (38)	806	37,710
28	Cournon-d'Auvergne	Puy-de-Dôme (63)	746	20,341
29	Lyon	Rhône (69)	729	525,314
30	Saint-Martin-d'Hères	Isère (38)	716	37,921
31	Villeurbanne	Rhône (69)	687	164,747
32	Décines-Charpieu	Rhône (69)	667	30,064
33	Bron	Rhône (69)	618	43,369
34	Bourgoin-Jallieu	Isère (38)	537	30,773
35	Annecy	Haute-Savoie (74)	536	134,985
36	Meyzieu	Rhône (69)	526	37,006
37	Saint-Genis-Laval	Rhône (69)	517	21,661
38	Fontaine	Isère (38)	395	22,237
39	Vénissieux	Rhône (69)	394	65,689
40	Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon	Rhône (69)	366	22,045
41	Bourg-lès-Valence	Drôme (26)	346	20,405
42	Oyonnax	Ain (01)	238	22,923
43	Givors	Rhône (69)	15	21,503

Source: DGFiP (French public finance directorate), individual accounts of communes (main budget); outstanding debt on December 31 of the latest fiscal year published, divided by the DGF population, cities with 20,000 or more inhabitants. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. Tied values share the same rank. Data sources.

FAQ

Most indebted cities in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: FAQ

Which city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has the most debt per inhabitant?

Vichy (Allier) is the most indebted city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with debt of €2,776 per inhabitant.

What are the 10 most indebted cities in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes?

In order: Vichy (€2,776), Romans-sur-Isère (€1,768), Grenoble (€1,735), Albertville (€1,612), Thonon-les-Bains (€1,605), Chambéry (€1,604), Caluire-et-Cuire (€1,558), Saint-Priest (€1,450), Saint-Étienne (€1,337), and Montluçon (€1,287).

Which city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has the least debt per inhabitant?

Givors (Rhône) is the least indebted city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with debt of €15 per inhabitant.

How many towns in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes are ranked?

43 out of 4,025. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.

What does debt per inhabitant measure?

It is the outstanding debt of the commune’s main budget on December 31 of the latest fiscal year published by the DGFiP, divided by the population used to calculate the state’s general operating grant (the DGF population). High debt may have paid for recent facilities, so it is best read alongside the town’s capacity to repay it. Debt held by intercommunal bodies and joint syndicates is not counted; for Paris, which is both a commune and a department, it also covers department-level responsibilities. Only cities with 20,000 or more inhabitants are ranked here (towns with 5,000 or more appear in the most and least indebted towns rankings): in smaller communes, a few loans can swing the amount per inhabitant sharply.