Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 2,068 residents and lies in Hérault, Occitanie.
Les Matelles’s schools beat most: bac results 1.8 points above the expected rate; brevet results 2 points above the expected rate. Add jobs & income to its strengths — 0.3 jobs per working resident; 5.7% unemployment. Prices are high against local incomes: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for health and B for walkability.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Les Matelles has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Les Matelles does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Les Matelles 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.
Les Matelles has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Les Matelles has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 0 inscrit, the second level.
The oldest protected part dates from prehistory; the first monument here was protected in 1952.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Les Matelles.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Les Matelles, 98.2% passed the bac, above Hérault’s towns (95.0%) and compared French towns (92.9%) alike. The nearest collège is 2.5 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège François VillonNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 218 | 95%+2 pts |
| Lycée polyvalent Jean JaurèsNearest lycéeGeneral lycée | General lycée | 447 | 99%+1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €14.79/m² a month, above Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike. The sales split: 81% houses, the rest apartments. The market in Les Matelles: 36 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
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. 264 deaths in Les Matelles between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 228: 16% above. The nearest emergency department to Les Matelles is Chu Mtp Plate Forme Telephonique Samu Vailhauques, 6.8 mi away. The town has 3 family doctors.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · The care-home figures behind this are our own model (TownRatings), not official statistics. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Les Matelles is Aven d'incinération du Suquet. The protected list starts in prehistory. Also worth knowing: 7.4% of its homes were built before 1919, about level with compared French towns (7.4%) and below Hérault’s towns (8.8%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Unemployment stood at 5.7%, lower than both Hérault’s towns (11.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The census found 6.1% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
People aged 15 to 24 make up nearly a tenth of the town, below both Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%). Over-65s are a quarter of the population. The median resident of Les Matelles is 47.1 years old.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Les Matelles | Hérault median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 9.7% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| No diploma | 9.6% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 16% | 23% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 52% | 31% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Hérault median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage, museums and other places to visit in and near Les Matelles. Best known first.
Les Matelles has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Aven d'incinération du Suquet: Photo: JYB Devot · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikidata places 1 person here, but the articles don’t both confirm Les Matelles as the birthplace, so nobody is listed.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Matelles | 2,068 | — | — | C− | — | B |
| Saint-Gély-du-Fesc | 10,472 | 2.5 | A | D | A+ | A |
| Saint-Clément-de-Rivière | 5,218 | 3.5 | A | D | B+ | A+ |
| Prades-le-Lez | 6,184 | 3.6 | A− | D− | A− | A− |
| Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers | 4,979 | 3.8 | A+ | C− | A+ | A |
| Montferrier-sur-Lez | 4,135 | 4.7 | A | D− | B+ | A |
| Grabels | 9,092 | 5.4 | B− | D | B− | B− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Les Matelles has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.4 recorded violent incidents and 5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A, better than 90% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 99% of 447 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Jean Jaurès 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.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Les Matelles grades C− for cost of living.
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Les Matelles is a commune of 2,068 people in the Communauté de communes du Grand Pic Saint-Loup. 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.