Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
6,133 people call this town in Hérault, Occitanie home. Over-65s are 42% of the population.
More weak spots than strong ones. Its lowest grade is for safety — an average of 16.2 recorded violent incidents and 34.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Buying in is costly: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 12.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. School results are strong (A−): brevet results a point above the expected rate. Walkability is a strength too — just over nine in ten residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 19% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade comes out at D, #63 of 84 in Hérault. That leaves it better than 15% of compared French towns.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · 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.
The 3 things Palavas-les-Flots does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Palavas-les-Flots 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.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Palavas-les-Flots as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Ensemble historique et archéologique de la cité épiscopale et canoniale de Maguelone, in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, 2.9 mi away.
1.7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Museums, other places to visit and family days out in and near Palavas-les-Flots. Best known first.
MuseumLattara4.6 km northwest, in Lattes
MuseumMusée archéologique Henri-Prades4.5 km northwest, in LattesMuseumMuseumMusée Albert Duboutin townMuseumMuseumMusée du Trainin townAttractionAttractionLe Petoulet du Levantin townPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Palavas-les-Flots.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 6.5% of the town, below Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%) alike. Those 65 and older account for just over two in five residents. Half of Palavas-les-Flots is older than 59.9, half younger.
56% women, 44% men
About 80 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.
| Palavas-les-Flots | Hérault median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.3% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 6.5% | 9.7% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 42% | 24% | 22% |
| No diploma | 17% | 17% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 22% | 23% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 19% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 33% | 31% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Hérault median and France median: the median of compared communes
Among the graded crimes in Palavas-les-Flots, the most frequent was criminal damage (2025). In all, 297 offenses reached the police record in the town in 2025. On the Safety Grade, Palavas-les-Flots ranks 83rd of the 84 compared towns in Hérault.
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.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · 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, 0.2% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Palavas-les-Flots is the second most expensive of the 96 towns in Hérault, at €5,041/m². Houses in Palavas-les-Flots sell for €4,938/m² and apartments for €5,056/m². Advertised rents are estimated at €16.33/m² a month, above Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²) alike.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €4,938/m² | 106 |
| Apartments | €5,056/m² | 605 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
At the census, 18.8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, above both Hérault’s towns (10.2%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment runs at 12.3%. 2,150 jobs are based in Palavas-les-Flots, for 2,100 working residents (1 per worker).
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Collège pupils travel 2.3 mi to the nearest one. Schools rank #10 of 80 in Hérault.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Fréderic MistralNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 133 | 94%+1 pt |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Palavas-les-Flots’ deaths ran at 96 per 100 expected, above Hérault’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88) alike. France’s death rates at each age would predict 948 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 947, about as many. At birth, a girl in Hérault can expect 86.3 years and a boy 80.6 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3. 7 GPs practise here.
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 step is TownRatings’ own calculation, not an official number.
Nothing in Palavas-les-Flots is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Palavas-les-Flots.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palavas-les-Flots | 6,133 | — | D | D− | D− | C |
| Pérols | 9,615 | 2.3 | C+ | D− | C− | A− |
| Lattes | 17,351 | 3.3 | C+ | D− | D | A |
| Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone | 10,872 | 3.9 | C+ | D− | C | B |
| Mauguio | 16,522 | 5.9 | C | D− | D | B− |
| Saint-Jean-de-Védas | 13,328 | 6.2 | C+ | D− | D | A− |
| Montpellier | 310,240 | 6.7 | C− | D | D | B+ |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades D− for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 37 burglaries and 94 acts of criminal damage.
They grade A−, better than 82% of compared French towns and #10 of 80 in Hérault. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Palavas-les-Flots grades D− for cost of living.
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Palavas-les-Flots is a commune of 6,133 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de l'Or. 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 November 4, 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.