Not all departments offer the same conditions for parents and their children. Using around ten criteria, a study determined which one was most suited to family life.
City or countryside, apartment or house… Nobody seems to agree when it comes to knowing which situation is best suited to family life. Some favor the wide open spaces and the calm that rural life offers, while others prefer the accessibility to studies and culture that big cities offer. But apart from each person’s own opinion, there are indeed criteria which make a territory more conducive to the education of a child. Access to housing, cost of living, security, proximity to educational establishments… The conditions of reception and support for families vary greatly from one place to another.
Luko by Allianz Direct, a specialist in home insurance, analyzed all French departments in order to identify those offering the best conditions for family life in 2026. Several specific criteria were taken into account: the percentage of apartments suitable for families, the number of primary and secondary schools, the average duration of the journey home to work, the average salary, the price of real estate, the surface area of parks, the number of play areas, the number of childcare stores and toys, the number of places in daycare, and finally the crime rate. Thanks to all these elements, a score out of 10 was awarded to each candidate.
And it is ultimately Jura which wins the title of best department for raising children. It owes its excellent score of 8.7 out of 10 to the accessibility of its real estate market, its educational offering, and its very large number of nursery places, well above other departments. With 90% of housing suitable for families, and a price per square meter lower than the national average, but also 765 schools, more than 353 km² of green spaces, and a relatively low crime rate of 16.19 offenses per 1,000 inhabitants, the Jura is clearly doing well.
Just behind, with overall scores also above 8 out of 10, we find: Indre, Haute-Loire, Creuse, Vosges, Aveyron, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre, Mayenne and Haute-Marne. As you will have understood, the best ranked departments are mainly concentrated in the center and rural east of France, where real estate prices are more advantageous. And conversely, the departments least suited to family life are mostly located on the Mediterranean rim or in the Paris region. This is due to a higher cost of living, longer travel times, and also higher crime.
The worst student in this area is the Var. A popular destination for tourists during the summer, the Provencal department benefits from fewer schools, parks or playgrounds than the others, and a much higher property price per square meter. But it is also security that makes it fall sharply in the ranking, with a crime rate of 159.62 offenses per 1,000 inhabitants. In the end, Var therefore receives the lowest score, with only 4.38 out of 10. Then follow Corse-du-Sud, Alpes-Maritimes, Hérault, Vaucluse, Val-d’Oise, Haute-Corse, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, and Loire-Atlantique, which constitute the bottom of the ranking.
