On very objective criteria such as real estate prices, salaries and employment, the city of Chaumont is particularly attractive and even crushes Mulhouse, although it is ranked number 1 in these areas. Numerical explanations.
Each year, the national “Employment and Housing” barometer allows you to discover the cities where it is easiest to settle and make a life there. By combining three data (the price of real estate, salaries and the unemployment rate), it ranks the most “comfortable” cities.
Problem: the study only concerns the 31 largest cities in France. Chaumont has therefore not been studied and is not classified. On the other hand, it can be compared to the first “cities to settle in”: Mulhouse, which is closely followed by Metz and Perpignan. And, clearly, Chaumont has nothing to be ashamed of!
The price of real estate
First criterion taken into account: the price of real estate. The Haut-Rhin city remains the most attractive for the second year in a row thanks to a very low price per m2 (which excludes, moreover, all French coastal cities from the ranking). It is €1,349 in Mulhouse and it turns out that it is, according to the latest transactions, €1,303 per m2, in Chaumont, in November 2024.
Chaumont 1. Mulhouse 0. It is therefore easier to find accommodation in Chaumont than in Mulhouse. This data is valid, both in terms of purchase and rental. It should be noted that this price per m2 fell by one percent in one year while it increased by 20% over 5 years.
Salaries
Second criterion: salaries. In Mulhouse, in 2022, the average net salary was €2,074. In 2023, it was €2,150 while, in France, it is €2,700. Here again, Chaumont surpasses Mulhouse thanks to its figures which do not take into account retirement pensions and unemployment benefits. According to INSEE, the average net salary in Chaumont was €2,165 in 2022 and €2,200 in 2023.
Chaumont 2. Mulhouse 0. The difference in favor of Chaumont is explained by the presence of senior civil servants and senior executives in greater numbers than elsewhere. The problem is that they are often only passing through and do not settle permanently in the city.
Job offers
Third and final criterion: job offers. Nearly 1,000 are permanently offered on Meteojob, for the Chaumont employment pool. In the second quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate in Chaumont was 5.6% of the active population. It rose slightly at the end of the year with an evolution comparable to the evolution of unemployment at the national level. But employment in the Chaumont basin still remains more dynamic than average with a rate lower than that of mainland France which is 7.4% at the end of the year.
Out of 321 employment areas in France, the Chaumont employment area ranks 59e place areas with the lowest unemployment rate. The performance is remarkable, especially since it concerns all socio-professional categories.
Opposite, Mulhouse looks pale. Its employment area reaches an unemployment rate of 8.5% with chronic difficulties which are alleviated thanks to the proximity of Germany and Switzerland. 11.3% of Mulhouse employees work in these countries.
Chaumont 3. Mulhouse 0. The city-prefecture of Haute-Marne therefore far outweighs all the criteria confirming the words of those who construct this annual barometer: “Secondary cities confirm, once again, their attractiveness and are attractive with their employment pool. attractive and their attractive real estate purchasing power in line with the salaries offered in the urban area. The numbers speak for themselves. It remains to be seen whether the Chaumontais realize this…
Frédéric Thévenin
