Accommodation. Mulhouse, Dijon… What are the most attractive French cities?

According to INSEE, the unemployment rate has now reached 7.4% of the active population in France. A rising figure.

Even if the relaxation in credit rates is very real, becoming an owner is not always easy. Added to this is a tight rental market in many cities.

But in this context, some combine the double advantage of offering both housing accessible for purchase, depending on the salaries offered, and employment opportunities, according to the sixth barometer* of the loan broker Meilleurtaux and from the Meteojob job search site.

Mulhouse, on the first step of the podium

In the ranking of the most attractive cities for working and housing, Mulhouse retains its first place again this year.

It stands out with an attractive monthly net media salary (€2,187) and a dynamic job market (with a permanent contract proportion of 9% per 100 inhabitants).

On the real estate side, for a budget of just over €130,000, it is possible to acquire 98 m² in Mulhouse. Metz and Perpignan enter the ranking, occupying second and third places respectively.

These two cities stand out for a significant increase in their job offers: an increase of 5,000 offers compared to 2024.

“Secondary cities continue to appeal thanks to a dynamic employment pool and advantageous real estate purchasing power, consistent with the salaries offered”underlines the study. “For example, Metz has the highest proportion of permanent contracts (56%), while Perpignan offers salaries higher than those of Nice or Marseille, while offering a price per m² up to 2 to 2.7 times lower . »

Orléans and Rouen: permanent contract offers on the decline

The cities of Orléans and Rouen, which occupied second and third place last year, fell this year to sixth and fourth place.

This drop is explained by a notable decrease in the share of available permanent contracts. Orléans, for example, sees its total number of job offers drop (from 8% in 2023 to 6% in 2024).

Nevertheless, these two cities remain attractive: monthly net salaries are higher than those of Nice or Marseille, and the real estate purchasing power is better there.

Paris, Nice and Marseille: the bad students

The cities of Paris, Nice and Marseille once again occupy the last places, penalized by their high real estate prices.

Even if Marseille remains in the same place as last year in the ranking, its score has risen slightly thanks to the increase in job offers (3%, compared to 2.8% in 2023).

Grenoble maintains its eighth place

After losing four places in 2023, Grenoble retains its eighth place. The level of employment is improving with the percentage of permanent offers per 100 inhabitants increasing from 6 to 7% in 2024.

The property price per m² is falling (€2,704, compared to €3,035 in 2023). Thus, the number of accessible m² increases from 40 m² to 53 m² this year.

New attractive medium-sized cities…

Cities are moving up in this sixth barometer. This is particularly the case for Dijon which comes in fifth place, a gain of five places compared to 2023.

Just two hours on average from Paris, it offers a higher median net salary of €2,226 with 51 m² of accessible space and 8% permanent contract per 100 inhabitants.

Nîmes, although outside the Top 10, climbs from 26th to 14th place.

… when others fall

Conversely, Tours fell from sixth to 15th place, just like Saint-Étienne and Caen, which respectively went from fourth to seventh place and from seventh to 10th place.

Besançon, which had gained nine places in 2023, finds itself at 13^e place, whereas it was previously at 11^e.

You can buy a 49 m² apartment there (better than last year with 42 m²), but the job offer (6%) is lower than in Dijon, for example.

Lyon moves from 18^e at the 24^e place and the offer of permanent contracts per 100 inhabitants from 7.3 to 6%. The price per m² is the fourth most expensive in France (€4,603, down).

This allows Lyonnais to gain 8 m² of real estate purchasing power (31 m², compared to 23 m² in 2023). Strasbourg loses a place, going from 17^e at 18^e.

It offers 6% permanent offers per 100 inhabitants, compared to 6.50% in 2023. The price per m² is falling (€3,715, compared to €4,179 in 2023), but the monthly net median salary is increasing ( €2,204, compared to €2,064).

If Strasbourg residents could afford 27 m² a year ago, they will gain 9 m² in 2024 (36 m²). “Cities which fall in the ranking like Tours and Saint-Étienne do so due to the downward trend in available permanent contracts (6% in the first, compared to 7.2% last year, and 4% in the second, against 4.5%)”, explains Maël Bernier, spokesperson for Meilleurtaux.

* Three data points are taken into account in the study: employment, salary and housing. It thus measures the number of permanent job offers in relation to the number of inhabitants, as well as the real estate purchasing power. This is calculated from the median net salary in each city, the interest rates charged and the price of real estate