La Mothe-Saint-Héray’s best grade is for cost of living: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Schools do well: brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. Incomes are on the low side: 0.8 jobs per working resident; 9.3% unemployment. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for health and B− for walkability.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. La Mothe-Saint-Héray has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares La Mothe-Saint-Héray with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Mothe-Saint-Héray.
HousingCost of living A
Renting in La Mothe-Saint-Héray costs less than in both Deux-Sèvres’ towns and compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €8.82/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The middle sale price: €1,000/m², below Deux-Sèvres’ towns (€1,508/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²) alike. The market in La Mothe-Saint-Héray: 74 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€1,000/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
La Mothe-Saint-Héray€1,000/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Deux-Sèvres median€1,508/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,000/m²
74
€8.82/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.01 to €11.10/m² a month)
2.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€7.09/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,390
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Mellois en Poitou
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
La Mothe-Saint-Héray skews older, with 29% of residents 65 or over, more than in both Deux-Sèvres’ towns and compared French towns
14% are under 15, below both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). Among adults, 20% have a degree. The middle age in La Mothe-Saint-Héray is 50.7.
50.7median age
La Mothe-Saint-HérayDeux-Sèvres medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma29%
CAP or BEP29%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education20%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape La Mothe-Saint-Héray: 38% were built before 1919, more than in both Deux-Sèvres’ towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
La Mothe-Saint-Héray has 5 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 3 classé, the highest protection, and 1 inscrit, the second level. Since 2020, a site patrimonial remarquable has protected part of the town. It has 30 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, higher than both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (4.5) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments in the town is Dolmen dit de la Garenne.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B−
La Mothe-Saint-Héray is 16.5 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Average lifespans in Deux-Sèvres: 85.3 years for women, 79.4 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. La Mothe-Saint-Héray has 5 family doctors. Also worth knowing: its two care homes for older people (136 places) count their residents as La Mothe-Saint-Héray’s; allowing for them, deaths were 11% below expected. 411 deaths in the town between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 303: 36% above.
−11%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw136
Adjusted89
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in La Mothe-Saint-Héray · 2.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
16.5 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique D Inkermann
16.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Niort
85.3 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Deux-Sèvres, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Money is tighter in La Mothe-Saint-Héray than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €23,560 a year per consumption unit
At the census, 6.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train. Unemployment is 9.3%.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving85%
On foot4%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport2%
Bicycle1%
500
jobs based in La Mothe-Saint-Héray, 0.8 per working resident
9.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,560
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B−
Walkability: better than 53% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
La Mothe-Saint-Héray has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
Police and gendarmerie figures for La Mothe-Saint-Héray show 24 offenses in 2025. Violence against people ran at 7 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 10.8 (2023–2025 average). Criminal damage topped the graded crimes in La Mothe-Saint-Héray (2025).
7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage16
Other physical violence8
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence7
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
10.8
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
29.7%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of family violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 29.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Église Saint-Héray: Photo: Jérémy le Français · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Moulin à eau de Pont-l'Abbé: Photo: Anne Desvignes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château de la Villedieu-de-Comblé: Photo: Anne Desvignes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Famous people from La Mothe-Saint-Héray
6 notable people were born in La Mothe-Saint-Héray.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about La Mothe-Saint-Héray
Is La Mothe-Saint-Héray safe?
La Mothe-Saint-Héray has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average.
Are schools in La Mothe-Saint-Héray good?
They grade B+, better than 70% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is La Mothe-Saint-Héray expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so La Mothe-Saint-Héray grades A for cost of living.
About La Mothe-Saint-Héray
Commune in Deux-Sèvres, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
La Mothe-Saint-Héray is a commune of 1,652 people in the Communauté de communes Mellois en Poitou. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.
