Bessan grades D− overall: better than 2% of compared French towns, and #79 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D−): 0.5 jobs per working resident; 14.5% unemployment. At the median price of €2,407/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-Méditerranée. Its strongest is walkability (B): 93% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 7% 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 Bessan 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
Homes in Bessan sell for €2,407/m² at the median, against €3,252/m² in Hérault’s towns and €2,430/m² in compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €11.73/m² a month, about level with compared French towns (€12.41/m²) and below Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²). 187 houses and apartments changed hands in Bessan from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses are advertised at an estimated €9.93/m² a month.
€2,407/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bessan€2,407/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,498/m²
170
€11.73/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.43 to €14.59/m² a month)
7.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,170
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-Méditerranée
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
More deaths than expected: Bessan is above 71% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Bessan has 2 family doctors. Its care home for older people (56 places) counts its residents as Bessan’s; allowing for it, deaths were 4% below expected. 629 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 592: 6% above. Life expectancy in Hérault: 86.3 years for women and 80.6 for men (2025); France averages 85.9 and 80.3.
−4%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw106
Adjusted96
Median town88
Expected100
2
GPs in Bessan · 4.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
5.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Hopital Saint Loup Hopitaux Bassin Thau Agde
8.6 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Beziers
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Per resident, Bessan sees more crime than 66% of compared French towns
On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 7.6 violent offenses and 17.5 graded property crimes a year. In 2025, 112 offenses were recorded in Bessan. Of the graded crimes locally, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
7.6recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearCSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage41
Other physical violence22
Burglary17
Family violence11
Theft from vehicles11
Vehicle theft10
Theft without violence32
Fraud26
Drug use12
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.
7.6
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
17.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
112
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.6%
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 sexual violence and armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 1.6% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Old homes shape Bessan: 16% were built before 1919, more than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Bessan, none of them classé, France’s highest protection. Its heritage reaches back to the 10th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Work & commuteJobs & income D−
Bessan has higher unemployment than Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 14.5%
The median disposable income was €23,200 a year per consumption unit, below both Hérault’s towns (€25,355) and compared French towns (€25,970). The census found 6.6% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. At the census, 4.0% of working residents in Bessan didn’t travel to work at all.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving88%
On foot3%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle1%
1,200
jobs based in Bessan, 0.5 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,200
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 58% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Bessan than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: 22% of adults
18% are under 15, higher than both Hérault’s towns (17%) and compared French towns (17%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up 9.3% of residents. Line up the people of Bessan by age and the one in the middle is 44.6.
44.6median age
BessanHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
23%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma22%
CAP or BEP30%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bessan
Is Bessan safe?
It grades C for safety, #53 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 17 burglaries and 41 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bessan good?
They grade D, better than 12% of compared French towns and #72 of 80 in Hérault. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bessan expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Bessan grades C− for cost of living.
About Bessan
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Bessan is a commune of 5,838 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-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.
