Lodève grades C+ overall: better than 45% of compared French towns, and #29 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is safety (D): an average of 18.3 recorded violent incidents and 18.5 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 €1,364/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Lodévois et Larzac. Its strongest is walkability (A): 77% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 25% 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 Lodève 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 Lodève.
History
More protected monuments for its size in Lodève than in Hérault or compared French towns: 22 per 10,000 residents
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Lodève sits above both Hérault’s towns (3) and compared French towns (2.5) on this measure. The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Lodève: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Lodève is Grotte fermée.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Crime per resident in Lodève runs higher than in 93% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 300 offenses in the graded categories in Lodève in 2025. With 3,300 jobs for 2,450 working residents, Lodève draws people from neighboring communes, and crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its number of residents. For armed robbery, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 0.3% of the index here.
18.3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage93
Other physical violence69
Family violence63
Burglary25
Sexual violence23
Theft from vehicles15
Vehicle theft12
Theft without violence83
Drug use61
Fraud55
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.
18.3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
18.5
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
300
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.3%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Lodève skews older, with 31% of residents 65 or over, more than Hérault’s towns or compared French towns
In the comparison, Lodève comes above both Hérault’s towns (24%) and compared French towns (22%). Under-15s account for 13% of the population.
52.3median age
LodèveHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
31%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP22%
Baccalauréat20%
Higher education29%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 89 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 B
Estimated advertised rents run lower in Lodève than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: €9.65/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
For Lodève, that is below both Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,364/m², comes from 285 sales of houses and apartments in Lodève from July 2023 to June 2026. Lodève is the second cheapest of the 96 towns in Hérault, at €1,364/m².
€1,364/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Lodève€1,364/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,066/m²
135
Apartments
€1,112/m²
150
€9.65/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.87 to €11.83/m² a month)
4.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.93/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€21,710
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Lodévois et Larzac
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Lodève’s death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 55% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 1,210 residents of Lodève died, against 1,079 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 12% more. Its three care homes for older people (255 places) count their residents as Lodève’s; allowing for them, deaths were 10% 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.
−10%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw112
Adjusted90
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Lodève · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
9.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Chu Mtp Smur Antenne Clermont L Herault
26.9 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier Emile Borel Saint Affrique
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran: Photo: Baldiri · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien groupe épiscopal: Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5
Georges Auric: Unattributed, Public domain · André Hercule de Fleury: Workshop of Hyacinthe Rigaud, Public domain · André Beaumont: Unknown (Bain News Service, publisher), Public domain · Eugène Massol: Huster, Public domain · Jacques Martin de Lagarde: Dmlc03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Suzanne Amigues: Jean Burc, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lodève’s 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 Lodève
Is Lodève safe?
It grades D for safety, #72 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 25 burglaries and 93 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Lodève good?
They grade A−, better than 81% of compared French towns and #13 of 80 in Hérault. The lycée stands out: 98% of 146 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Joseph Vallot in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Lodève expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,364/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. By type: houses €2,066/m² (135 sales), apartments €1,112/m² (150 sales). Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Lodève grades B for cost of living.
About Lodève
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Lodève is a commune of 7,251 people in the Communauté de communes Lodévois et Larzac. 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.
