Housing is expensive (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its best grade is for walkability (A−): 96% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 11% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Put together, the subjects come to a C overall, ranking #48 of 84 in Hérault. That leaves it better than 31% of compared French towns.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Balaruc-les-Bains 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 Balaruc-les-Bains.
HousingCost of living D
Buying in Balaruc-les-Bains costs more than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €4,180/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Balaruc-les-Bains goes for €3,900/m², an apartment for €4,234/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €13.61/m² a month, about level with Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and above compared French towns (€12.41/m²). 718 houses and apartments changed hands here from July 2023 to June 2026.
€4,180/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Balaruc-les-Bains€4,180/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,900/m²
125
Apartments
€4,234/m²
593
€13.61/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.13 to €18.29/m² a month)
11.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€14.60/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,500
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Older residents shape Balaruc-les-Bains: 32% are 65 or over, above Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
Children under 15 count for 13% of the people here. The 15-to-24 age group: 9%, lower than both Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%). Also worth knowing: among adults, 25% have a degree.
52median age
Balaruc-les-BainsHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP28%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
INSEE, census 2023 · Hérault median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Balaruc-les-Bains has higher unemployment than Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 13.7%
For its 2,550 residents in work, Balaruc-les-Bains has 2,250 jobs: 0.9 each. Median disposable income comes to €26,450 a year per consumption unit. Public transport took 2.5% of Balaruc-les-Bains’ working residents to work at the census.
11%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving82%
On foot6%
Motorbike or scooter4%
Public transport2%
Bicycle2%
2,250
jobs based in Balaruc-les-Bains, 0.9 per working resident
13.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,450
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A−
Walkability: better than 77% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Balaruc-les-Bains is higher than in 72% of compared French towns
Violence against people ran at 8.3 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 18.5 (2023–2025 average). The police record for Balaruc-les-Bains lists 203 offenses in 2025. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
8.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage86
Family violence30
Burglary22
Sexual violence20
Theft from vehicles19
Other physical violence16
Vehicle theft10
Armed robbery0
Theft without violence77
Drug use76
Fraud56
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.
8.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
203
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
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 · The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth B+
Fewer deaths than Balaruc-les-Bains’ ages would predict, 82 per 100 expected, under Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
695 deaths in Balaruc-les-Bains between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 849: 18% below. Average lifespans in Hérault: 86.3 years for women, 80.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 nationally. The town has 30 family doctors.
−18%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw82
Adjusted82
Median town88
Expected100
30
GPs in Balaruc-les-Bains · 4.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
2.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Clair les Hopitaux du Bassin de Thau Sete
2.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Sainte Therese
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Balaruc-les-Bains
Is Balaruc-les-Bains safe?
It grades C for safety, #57 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 22 burglaries and 86 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Balaruc-les-Bains good?
They grade B, better than 57% of compared French towns and #46 of 80 in Hérault. The lycée stands out: 100% of 123 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé polyvalent Saint-Joseph in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Balaruc-les-Bains expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Balaruc-les-Bains grades D for cost of living.
About Balaruc-les-Bains
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Balaruc-les-Bains is a commune of 7,139 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée. 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.
