Rances (French pronunciation: [ʁɑ̃s] ⓘ) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

[3] The name of Rances is apparently derived from a Roman family name, but the exact form of the name has been forgotten.

The most dramatic event of its history occurred in 1548, when the village was almost entirely destroyed by an accidental fire.

It has been the site of extensive archeological excavations, notably by the University of Geneva.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent, a Column Or encircled with a Vine Vert fructed Purpure.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (405 or 96.7%), with German being second most common (5 or 1.2%) and Italian being third (3 or 0.7%).

[10] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Rances is; 52 children or 11.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 57 teenagers or 12.8% are between 10 and 19.

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The entire village of Rances is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[9] There were 225 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.0% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 10 or 29.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 11.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 14 or 41.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 8.8% were in education.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 63 or 15.0% were Roman Catholic, while 267 or 63.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.

The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years.