DATA DESK | 2026 EDITION
Living around Paris is a trade-off between access and space. This index balances housing, safety, transport, services, distance to central Paris and employment.
The podium
#1
Sannois
68.0/100
#2
Limeil-Brévannes
66.7/100
#3
Garges-lès-Gonesse
65.5/100
Relative cohort index, not an absolute grade.
The complete top 15
| Rank | City | Score /100 |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Sannois | 68.0 |
| #2 | Limeil-Brévannes | 66.7 |
| #3 | Garges-lès-Gonesse | 65.5 |
| #4 | Deuil-la-Barre | 64.7 |
| #5 | Franconville | 61.5 |
| #6 | Épinay-sur-Seine | 61.5 |
| #7 | Longjumeau | 60.5 |
| #8 | Athis-Mons | 60.3 |
| #9 | Asnières-sur-Seine | 60.0 |
| #10 | Pontault-Combault | 59.9 |
| #11 | Villeparisis | 59.8 |
| #12 | Taverny | 59.6 |
| #13 | Saint-Gratien | 59.4 |
| #14 | Drancy | 59.3 |
| #15 | Chilly-Mazarin | 59.2 |
The evidence behind the podium
| City | 2025 €/m² | Crime basket /1,000 | Transport /10k | Km to Paris centre | Employment % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sannois | 3 532 | 3.6 | 246.6 | 14.9 | 89.2 |
| Limeil-Brévannes | 3 357 | 2.8 | 173.7 | 16.0 | 90.1 |
| Garges-lès-Gonesse | 2 547 | 3.7 | 191.9 | 13.1 | 83.1 |
Methodology and weights
Housing 20%; safety 20%; transport 20%; services 15%; distance to Paris 15%; employment 10%.
Each input is converted to a 0-to-100 percentile inside the eligible cohort. When lower is preferable, notably recorded crime and housing price, the percentile is inverted. The published weights then produce the final score.
Eligible universe
175 Île-de-France communes outside Paris with at least 20,000 residents and complete inputs.
Data vintages: SSMSI 2025; INSEE BPE 2025; INSEE Census housing and activity 2022; Filosofi 2023; DGFiP DVF transactions 2025; official geographic/population reference accessed in 2026.
How to use this ranking
Use it as a disciplined shortlist, not as an instruction to move. Reweight the indicators for your household, verify neighbourhood conditions, transport frequency, schools, rents and current listings, then visit at different times.
Limitations
A score of 100 means the strongest relative position, not perfection. Police-recorded crime reflects reporting and recording practices and may be affected by tourism and commuting. Equipment counts measure presence, not quality, hours or journey time. DVF observes completed sales, not rents or current availability. Vacancy is not the same as an immediately available home. Commune averages hide neighbourhood differences.
Official data and documentation
- SSMSI, base communale 2025
- Insee, BPE 2025
- Insee, logement 2022
- Insee, activité des résidents 2022
- Insee, Filosofi 2023
- DGFiP, DVF + agrégat communal documenté
- API Découpage administratif
Audit and corrections
The calculation joins sources by official commune code and consolidates arrondissement-level equipment data for Paris, Lyon and Marseille. oui stars Travel invites INSEE, SSMSI, DGFiP, municipalities and transport authorities to send corrections or finer comparable data. Documented corrections will be logged and scores recalculated.
Osama Samaha
Editor-in-Chief, oui stars Travel
[…] Best Cities Around Paris to Live: Housing, Transport, Safety & Services · Best Cities in Île-de-France for Jobs & Career Opportunities · Best City to Live in France 2026: oui stars Travel Overall Ranking […]