Béziers grades D overall: better than 8% of compared French towns, and #71 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 13.7 recorded violent incidents and 21 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 €1,895/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération de Béziers-Méditerranée. Its strongest is walkability (A): 92% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% 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 Béziers 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 Béziers.
Work & commuteJobs & income D
More people in Béziers are out of work than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: 22.0%
Béziers sits above both Hérault’s towns (11.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%) on this measure. Béziers has 42,050 jobs for 24,450 working residents, 1.7 per worker. The median disposable income is €18,390 a year per consumption unit.
19%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving76%
On foot10%
Public transport8%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Bicycle2%
42,050
jobs based in Béziers, 1.7 per working resident
22.0%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€18,390
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 91% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Béziers records more crime per resident than 90% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 2,920 offenses in the graded categories in Béziers in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Béziers, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
13.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage1,017
Other physical violence534
Family violence417
Burglary314
Vehicle theft228
Theft from vehicles214
Sexual violence176
Armed robbery20
Theft without violence1,137
Fraud634
Drug use627
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.
13.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
2,920
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
under 0.1%
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
HealthHealth C−
Béziers’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 78% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Béziers’ deaths ran at 99 per 100 expected, above both Hérault’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 9,907 residents of Béziers died, against 9,103 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 9% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−1%deaths against expected, after care homesC−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw109
Adjusted99
Median town88
Expected100
74
GPs in Béziers · 3.6 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
1.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Beziers
0.1 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
Renting in Béziers costs less than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €11.16/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Béziers below both Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,895/m², comes from 3,924 sales of houses and apartments in Béziers from July 2023 to June 2026. In Béziers, houses go for €2,269/m² and apartments for €1,641/m².
€1,895/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Béziers€1,895/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,269/m²
1,402
Apartments
€1,641/m²
2,522
€11.16/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.81 to €14.13/m² a month)
6.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.30/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€21,120
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération de Béziers-Méditerranée
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
A secteur sauvegardé since 1992, and 36 historic monuments
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 36 historic monuments in Béziers: 12 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 24 inscrit (the second level). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1992.
Richard Gasquet: si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jean Moulin: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Edgar Faure: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Thomas Heurtel: Sakhalinio, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Samuel Honrubia: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Christian Metz: Laflordelvalle, CC BY-SA 4.0
Béziers’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Béziers
Is Béziers safe?
It grades D for safety, #68 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 314 burglaries and 1,017 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Béziers good?
They grade B−, better than 47% of compared French towns and #55 of 80 in Hérault. The lycée stands out: 100% of 189 candidates passed the bac at Lycée privé La Trinité in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Béziers expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,895/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Béziers grades C for cost of living.
About Béziers
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Béziers is a commune of 81,545 people in the Communauté d'agglomération de Béziers-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
Population
81,545 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté d'agglomération de Béziers-Méditerranée
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.
