Fontès has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 0.6 jobs per working resident; 11.5% unemployment. At the median price of €2,106/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 de communes du Clermontais. Its strongest is walkability (B): 94% 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.
Each subject compares Fontès 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 Fontès.
Who lives here
Fontès has fewer young adults than Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 5.7% are 15 to 24
In the comparison, Fontès comes below both Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%). People 65 and over make up 32% of the town.
52.5median age
FontèsHérault 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 BEP30%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education22%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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 C
Homes in Fontès sell for €2,106/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 median price, €2,106/m², comes from 42 sales of houses and apartments in Fontès from July 2023 to June 2026. Advertised rents are estimated at €11.81/m² a month, below Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and close to compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€2,106/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Fontès€2,106/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,106/m²
42
€11.81/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.82 to €14.21/m² a month)
6.3
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.05/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,270
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes du Clermontais
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income D
Incomes in Fontès run lower than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: a median €23,510 a year per consumption unit
For Fontès, that is below both Hérault’s towns (€25,355) and compared French towns (€25,970). 7.3% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
Bicycle0%
200
jobs based in Fontès, 0.6 per working resident
11.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,510
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
9%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B
Walkability: better than 64% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
History
Fontès keeps more of its old housing than Hérault or compared French towns: 25% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Fontès sits above both Hérault’s towns (8.8%) and compared French towns (7.4%) on this measure. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Fontès, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth B
Fontès’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is lower than in 57% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 208 residents of Fontès died, against 177 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 17% more. Its care home for older people (61 places) counts its residents as Fontès’; allowing for it, deaths were 14% below expected. The adjustment lowers most towns’ figures, so the comparison is what counts: the median of compared French towns is 12% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C to A−.
−14%deaths against expected, after care homesBHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw117
Adjusted86
Median town88
Expected100
1
GPs in Fontès · 2.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Pasteur
15.3 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
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Fontès
Is Fontès safe?
Fontès has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 6.7 recorded violent incidents and 9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Is Fontès expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Fontès grades C for cost of living.
About Fontès
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Fontès is a commune of 1,060 people in the Communauté de communes du Clermontais. 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.
