Bédarieux grades C+ overall: better than 36% of compared French towns, and #42 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 18.9 recorded violent incidents and 21.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. At the median price of €984/m², a 70 m² home costs 3.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Grand Orb communauté de communes en Languedoc. Its strongest is walkability (A): 74% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 20% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
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 Bédarieux 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 Bédarieux.
Safety
Crime per resident in Bédarieux runs higher than in 95% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Bédarieux show 277 offenses in 2025. With 2,750 jobs for 1,700 working residents, Bédarieux draws people in from neighbouring communes. In 2025, criminal damage led the graded crimes here.
18.9recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage101
Other physical violence65
Family violence42
Sexual violence38
Burglary21
Theft from vehicles10
Theft without violence70
Drug use65
Fraud38
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.
18.9
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
277
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.2%
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 · For armed robbery and vehicle theft, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 1.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
HealthHealth D
Bédarieux has a higher adjusted death rate than 86% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Life expectancy in Hérault: 86.3 years for women and 80.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3. After the care-home adjustment, Bédarieux’s deaths ran at 105 per 100 expected, above both Hérault’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88). France’s death rates at each age would predict 838 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 992, 18% more.
+5%deaths against expected, after care homesDHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw118
Adjusted105
Median town88
Expected100
11
GPs in Bédarieux · 5.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique des Trois Vallees
18.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Polyclinique Champeau Groupe Axe Sante
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Unemployment in Bédarieux, 20.7%, runs above Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
After tax and benefits, the median income is €20,250 a year per consumption unit. At the census, 20.3% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above Hérault’s towns (10.2%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike.
20%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving73%
On foot14%
Bicycle4%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,750
jobs based in Bédarieux, 1.6 per working resident
20.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€20,250
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 85% of compared French towns
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Older residents shape Bédarieux: 31% are 65 or over, above Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
14% are under 15, lower than both Hérault’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). The middle age in Bédarieux is 52.4.
52.4median age
BédarieuxHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
31%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma26%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 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
HousingCost of living A−
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Bédarieux than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: €9.43/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
No town in Hérault costs less to buy into than Bédarieux, at €984/m², the lowest of 96. Behind the median of €984/m²: 282 houses and apartments sold here between July 2023 and June 2026. A house in Bédarieux goes for €1,395/m², an apartment for €836/m².
€984/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bédarieux€984/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,395/m²
158
Apartments
€836/m²
124
€9.43/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.60 to €11.71/m² a month)
3.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.24/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€21,920
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Grand Orb communauté de communes en Languedoc
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Old homes shape Bédarieux: 26% were built before 1919, more than in both Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Bédarieux is Chapelle Saint-Raphaël de la Bastide. The earliest of these monuments dates from the 10th century. The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments here: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level).
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bédarieux
Is Bédarieux safe?
It grades D for safety, #75 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 21 burglaries and 101 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bédarieux good?
They grade A−, better than 79% of compared French towns and #15 of 80 in Hérault. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bédarieux expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €984/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bédarieux grades A− for cost of living.
About Bédarieux
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Bédarieux is a commune of 5,804 people in the Communauté de communes Grand Orb communauté de communes en Languedoc. 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
Population
5,804 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Grand Orb communauté de communes en Languedoc
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.
