Pézenas grades C− overall: better than 21% of compared French towns, and #57 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is safety (D−): an average of 19 recorded violent incidents and 24.2 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 €2,220/m², a 70 m² home costs 6.7 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-Méditerranée. Its strongest is walkability (A): 91% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 23% 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 Pézenas 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 Pézenas.
History
40 historic monuments, more per resident than almost any compared French town
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The Culture ministry lists 40 historic monuments in Pézenas: 11 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 29 inscrit (the second level). Pézenas has 51 protected monuments per 10,000 residents, above both Hérault’s towns (3) and compared French towns (2.5). Among the classé monuments in Pézenas is Ancienne église Saint-Jean de Bébian.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Crime per resident in Pézenas runs higher than in 97% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 311 offenses in the graded categories in Pézenas in 2025. With 5,300 jobs for 2,500 working residents, Pézenas 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.
19recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearD−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage112
Other physical violence57
Family violence46
Burglary31
Sexual violence30
Vehicle theft24
Theft from vehicles11
Theft without violence109
Fraud71
Drug use61
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.
19
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
24.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
311
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
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C−
Unemployment in Pézenas, 18.7%, runs above Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
That puts Pézenas above both Hérault’s towns (11.8%) and compared French towns (10.1%). The median disposable income is €21,030 a year per consumption unit.
23%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving68%
On foot18%
Public transport3%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
5,300
jobs based in Pézenas, 2.1 per working resident
18.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€21,030
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
7%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A
Walkability: better than 90% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
An older town: 32% of people in Pézenas are 65 or over, more than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns
On this, Pézenas is above both Hérault’s towns (24%) and compared French towns (22%). 13% of residents are children under 15.
52.5median age
PézenasHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
32%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat18%
Higher education28%
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 84 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.
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C
Pézenas’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 74% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Adjusted for age and care homes, Pézenas records 97 deaths per 100 expected, above both Hérault’s towns (89) and compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 1,263 residents of Pézenas died, against 1,122 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 13% more. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−3%deaths against expected, after care homesCHealth Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw113
Adjusted97
Median town88
Expected100
21
GPs in Pézenas · 5.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.3 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Pasteur
11.6 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
Renting in Pézenas costs less than in Hérault’s towns or compared French towns, at an estimated advertised €10.85/m² a month
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
In the comparison, Pézenas comes below both Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €2,220/m², comes from 357 sales of houses and apartments in Pézenas from July 2023 to June 2026. In Pézenas, houses go for €2,652/m² and apartments for €1,957/m².
€2,220/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pézenas€2,220/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€2,652/m²
183
Apartments
€1,957/m²
174
€10.85/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.72 to €13.51/m² a month)
6.7
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.70/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€23,170
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-Méditerranée
Ancienne église Saint-Jean de Bébian: Photo: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ancienne sacristie des Pénitents Blancs: Photo: FHd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hôtel de Lacoste: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0 · Hôtel de Nizas: Photo: MOSSOT · CC BY 3.0
Boby Lapointe: Inconnu, Public domain · Yoan Audrin: 34 super héros, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Georges Beaume: Henri Manuel, Public domain · Henri Reboul: Angelica Kauffmann, Public domain
Pézenas’ 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 Pézenas
Is Pézenas safe?
It grades D− for safety, #79 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 31 burglaries and 112 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pézenas good?
They grade A−, better than 79% of compared French towns and #16 of 80 in Hérault. The lycée stands out: 97% of 364 candidates passed the bac at Lycée Jean Moulin 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.
Is Pézenas 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 €2,220/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns, so Pézenas grades C for cost of living.
About Pézenas
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Pézenas is a commune of 7,797 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Hérault-Méditerranée. 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.
