Paulhan grades D overall: better than 15% of compared French towns, and #64 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is jobs & income (D): 0.7 jobs per working resident; 14.5% unemployment. At the median price of €2,451/m², a 70 m² home costs 7.4 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+): 85% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 8% 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 Paulhan 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living C−
Renting in Paulhan costs less than in Hérault’s towns and across compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €11.48/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The median price, €2,451/m², comes from 191 sales of houses and apartments in Paulhan from July 2023 to June 2026. A house rents for an estimated €11.13/m² a month. The sales split: 92% houses, the rest apartments.
€2,451/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Paulhan€2,451/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,470/m²
176
€11.48/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.54 to €13.82/m² a month)
7.4
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.13/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
Unemployment in Paulhan, 14.5%, runs above Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
After tax and benefits, the median income is €22,930 a year per consumption unit. 7.9% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, close to Hérault’s towns (10.2%) and below compared French towns (13.4%). At the census, 4.4% of working residents in Paulhan didn’t travel to work at all.
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
On foot4%
Bicycle2%
Public transport1%
Motorbike or scooter1%
1,100
jobs based in Paulhan, 0.7 per working resident
14.5%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,930
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
B+
Walkability: better than 69% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Paulhan is lower than in 61% of compared French towns
Of the graded crimes in Paulhan, criminal damage came up most often (2025). Recorded offenses locally came to 59 in 2025. On average over 2023–2025, every 1,000 residents saw 5.1 violent offenses and 14.1 graded property crimes a year.
5.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearBSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage19
Family violence17
Burglary9
Vehicle theft9
Theft from vehicles5
Theft without violence35
Fraud35
Drug use17
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.
5.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
14.1
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
59
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
9.7%
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 other physical violence, sexual violence and 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, 9.7% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Paulhan has 2 historic monuments, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Paulhan is Église Notre-Dame des Vertus. Protection here reaches back to the 12th century. 9.9% of its homes were built before 1919, close to Hérault’s towns (8.8%) and above compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Fewer people in Paulhan hold a degree than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns: 25%
The under-15s are 18% of the population here. Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, about level with Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and below compared French towns (11%). The age that splits Paulhan in two is 44.9.
44.9median age
PaulhanHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma20%
CAP or BEP26%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education25%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 94 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
HealthHealth B−
Fewer deaths than expected: Paulhan is below 50% of compared French towns once ages and care homes are allowed for
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Hérault, women can expect to live 86.3 years and men 80.6 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. 442 deaths in Paulhan between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 476: 7% below. Its care home for older people (29 places) counts its residents as Paulhan’s; allowing for it, deaths were 12% below expected. The town has 5 family doctors.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw93
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
5
GPs in Paulhan · 3.9 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
6.2 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Pasteur
13.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital Saint Clair les Hopitaux du Bassin de Thau Sete
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 Paulhan
Is Paulhan safe?
It grades B for safety, #30 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 9 burglaries and 19 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Paulhan good?
They grade D, better than 8% of compared French towns and #75 of 80 in Hérault. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Paulhan expensive to live in?
Prices are close to the median of compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €2,451/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Paulhan grades C− for cost of living.
About Paulhan
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Paulhan is a commune of 4,039 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.
