2026 ranking · debt per inhabitant

The most indebted cities in Grand Est

Q: Which city in Grand Est has the most debt per inhabitant?

Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) is the most indebted city in Grand Est, with debt of €2,071 per inhabitant.

Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) is the most indebted city in Grand Est, with debt of €2,071 per inhabitant. Next come Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes, €1,867) and Épinal (Vosges, €1,712).

23 towns ranked out of 5,115

Mulhouse, 1^stThe next 19

The podium

Photos: © Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · © ArKaNuM, CC BY-SA 3.0

This ranking covers 23 of the 5,115 towns in Grand Est. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. At the other end of the ranking, Illkirch-Graffenstaden (Bas-Rhin) comes last with €82.

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 Grand Est

Rank	Town	Department	Debt per inhabitant (€)	Population
1	Mulhouse	Haut-Rhin (68)	2,071	106,083
2	Charleville-Mézières	Ardennes (08)	1,867	46,473
3	Épinal	Vosges (88)	1,712	33,395
4	Forbach	Moselle (57)	1,586	20,721
5	Thionville	Moselle (57)	1,491	43,398
6	Chaumont	Haute-Marne (52)	1,461	21,889
7	Troyes	Aube (10)	1,455	63,254
8	Strasbourg	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,426	296,552
9	Nancy	Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)	1,232	104,988
10	Épernay	Marne (51)	1,187	22,628
11	Sarreguemines	Moselle (57)	1,186	20,549
12	Reims	Marne (51)	1,185	180,733
13	Metz	Moselle (57)	1,069	124,396
14	Haguenau	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,061	36,899
15	Saint-Dizier	Haute-Marne (52)	1,043	23,281
16	Schiltigheim	Bas-Rhin (67)	799	34,922
17	Châlons-en-Champagne	Marne (51)	777	43,914
18	Montigny-lès-Metz	Moselle (57)	772	22,065
19	Colmar	Haut-Rhin (68)	664	68,013
20	Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy	Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)	646	30,204
21	Saint-Louis	Haut-Rhin (68)	550	23,072
22	Lingolsheim	Bas-Rhin (67)	187	20,987
23	Illkirch-Graffenstaden	Bas-Rhin (67)	82	28,336

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 Grand Est: FAQ

Which city in Grand Est has the most debt per inhabitant?

Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) is the most indebted city in Grand Est, with debt of €2,071 per inhabitant.

What are the 10 most indebted cities in Grand Est?

In order: Mulhouse (€2,071), Charleville-Mézières (€1,867), Épinal (€1,712), Forbach (€1,586), Thionville (€1,491), Chaumont (€1,461), Troyes (€1,455), Strasbourg (€1,426), Nancy (€1,232), and Épernay (€1,187).

Which city in Grand Est has the least debt per inhabitant?

Illkirch-Graffenstaden (Bas-Rhin) is the least indebted city in Grand Est, with debt of €82 per inhabitant.

How many towns in Grand Est are ranked?

23 out of 5,115. 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.