Where to live in France
We track 7 cities in France, including Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg. Average temperatures run from 12°C to 16°C. We estimate a couple needs €3,660 to €3,993 a month to live centrally. France sits in our high tax tier. For citizens from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, long-term residency is possible, with conditions.
12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).
- Tax tier
- High
- High personal income tax
- Languages
- French
- Some English
- Safety
- 52/100
- country-level
- Healthcare
- 80/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~230 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
The 7 cities we track
| City | Size | Setting | Avg temp | Rain a year | Est. cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bordeaux | mid-sized | coastal | 15°C | 902 mm | €3,660 |
| Lyon | mid-sized | inland | 13°C | 788 mm | €3,767 |
| Marseille | mid-sized | coastal | 16°C | 537 mm | €3,851 |
| Nice | mid-sized | coastal | 16°C | 847 mm | €3,700 |
| Paris | large | near the coast | 13°C | 659 mm | €3,993 |
| Strasbourg | mid-sized | inland | 12°C | 687 mm | €3,665 |
| Toulouse | mid-sized | near the coast | 15°C | 641 mm | €3,764 |
Source: City size from GeoNames, temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages), rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals), coast distance from Natural Earth. Cost is our model estimate for a couple living centrally.
Taxes
France sits in our high tax tier: high personal income tax. The tier applies to every city here, and couples who cap tax below it will not see these cities in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Coarse by design; not tax advice.
Residency and visas
Possible, with conditions, for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Realistic routes are the long-stay visitor visa for those with sufficient passive means (no work permitted), the Talent Passport for skilled workers, founders and investors, and standard employer-sponsored work permits, with permanent residency reachable after five years.
Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights here.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for France:
- Income: about $1,720 a month (France long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur), means benchmarked to net monthly SMIC, EUR 1,477.93/mo as of June 2026; converted at EUR/USD 1.1637; as of June 2026)
- Investment: about $349k (France Talent Passport 'Economic Investor' permit, EUR 300,000 in tangible/intangible fixed assets; converted at EUR/USD 1.1637; as of June 2026)
For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter visa-free and 105 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).