The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Health is where it shines — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 31% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: 89% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 31% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 11.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. All told, that adds up to a B+ overall, better than just over two thirds of compared French towns. It ranks #13 of 84 in Hérault.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · 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 Castelnau-le-Lez 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.
Citadelle de Montpellier: Photographié et édité par User:Sebjarod (floutage des plaques d'immatriculation), décembre 2004., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castelnau-le-Lez.
HousingCost of living D−
Renting in Castelnau-le-Lez costs more than in Hérault’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €16.08/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
A house in Castelnau-le-Lez goes for €4,651/m², an apartment for €3,818/m². At the median, a home went for €4,046/m², above both Hérault’s towns (€3,252/m²) and compared French towns (€2,430/m²). House rents are put at about €15.71/m² a month.
€4,046/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Castelnau-le-Lez€4,046/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€4,651/m²
354
Apartments
€3,818/m²
787
€16.08/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€13.48 to €19.18/m² a month)
11.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€15.71/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,750
median annual income per consumption unit, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
More commuters in Castelnau-le-Lez walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 30.8%
The median disposable income is €28,200 a year per consumption unit. Castelnau-le-Lez has 11,400 jobs for 12,500 working residents, 0.9 per worker. 4.6% of the town’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
31%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving61%
Public transport15%
Bicycle10%
On foot6%
Motorbike or scooter3%
11,400
jobs based in Castelnau-le-Lez, 0.9 per working resident
10.4%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€28,200
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 93% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A
Allowing for age and care homes, Castelnau-le-Lez sees fewer deaths than Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 69 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
62 GPs practise in Castelnau-le-Lez. Life expectancy at birth in Hérault is 86.3 years for women and 80.6 for men (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 2,266 deaths here from 2016 to 2025; there were 1,655, 27% fewer.
−31%deaths against expected, after care homesAHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw73
Adjusted69
Median town88
Expected100
62
GPs in Castelnau-le-Lez · 6.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique du Parc
2.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Chu Montpellier Hopital Arnaud de Villeneuve
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
90.0% of candidates passed the brevet at the 15 collèges within 5 km, 1.5 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
School results put the town #27 of 80 in Hérault. Near Castelnau-le-Lez, 94.8% of lycée candidates passed the bac, close to Hérault’s towns (95.0%) and above compared French towns (92.9%).
97%passed the bac (general and technological)B+School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
More people in Castelnau-le-Lez hold a degree than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 56%
Retirement age and beyond: 19% of residents are 65 or older. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 13% of residents, above both Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%). 14% of residents are children under 15.
37.7median age
Castelnau-le-LezHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
13%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma11%
CAP or BEP12%
Baccalauréat16%
Higher education56%
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%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Hérault median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Castelnau-le-Lez ranks above 61% of compared French towns for crime per resident
The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 5.7 violent offenses and 18.2 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. In 2025, 570 offenses were recorded in Castelnau-le-Lez. Police and gendarmerie recorded 570 offenses in the graded categories here in 2025.
5.7recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearC+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage163
Burglary109
Theft from vehicles83
Family violence78
Vehicle theft62
Other physical violence57
Sexual violence18
Drug use288
Theft without violence255
Fraud233
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.
5.7
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
570
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
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 · For 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, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Castelnau-le-Lez: 4 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The pre-1919 share of homes is 1.8%. Among the classé monuments in Castelnau-le-Lez is Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Its oldest listed monument dates from Antiquity.
Tronçon de la Via Domitia (également sur communes de Beaucaire, Jonquières-Saint-Vincent et Redessan, dans le Gard): Photo: Benoît Strepenne · CC BY 2.5 · Glacière double: Photo: Bruno Duhazé · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste: Photo: Vpe · Public domain
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Castelnau-le-Lez
Is Castelnau-le-Lez safe?
It grades C+ for safety, #48 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 109 burglaries and 163 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Castelnau-le-Lez good?
They grade B+, better than 72% of compared French towns and #27 of 80 in Hérault. 98% of 431 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Georges Pompidou in 2025, at the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Castelnau-le-Lez expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Castelnau-le-Lez grades D− for cost of living.
About Castelnau-le-Lez
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Castelnau-le-Lez is a commune of 26,058 people in the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. 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.
