Pignan grades B− overall: better than 53% of compared French towns, and #21 of 84 in Hérault. Its weakest subject is cost of living (D): at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 10.1 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its strongest is schools (B+): brevet results at the expected rate.
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 Pignan 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 Pignan.
HousingCost of living D
A home in Pignan sells for €3,562/m², more than in Hérault’s towns and across compared French towns
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €14.00/m² a month, near Hérault’s towns (€13.36/m²) and higher than compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses sell for €3,674/m² in Pignan, apartments for €3,378/m². The sales split: 72% houses, the rest apartments.
€3,562/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pignan€3,562/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Hérault median€3,252/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,674/m²
168
Apartments
€3,378/m²
64
€14.00/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€11.19 to €17.53/m² a month)
10.1
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€12.79/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,750
median annual income per consumption unit, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Work & commuteJobs & income C+
Unemployment in Pignan, 9.3%, runs below Hérault’s towns and compared French towns
Households’ median disposable income: €26,950 a year per consumption unit. Jobs based in Pignan number 1,650, against 3,650 residents in work (0.4 per worker). At the census, 9.9% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, about level with Hérault’s towns (10.2%) and below compared French towns (13.4%).
10%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving83%
On foot4%
Bicycle3%
Motorbike or scooter3%
Public transport3%
1,650
jobs based in Pignan, 0.4 per working resident
9.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,950
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 71% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B+
Mortality in Pignan, once ages and care homes are allowed for, undercuts Hérault’s towns and compared French towns: 81 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
In Hérault, life expectancy at birth reaches 86.3 years for women and 80.6 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. From 2016 to 2025, 573 residents of Pignan died, against 646 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 11% fewer. The town has 6 family doctors.
−19%deaths against expected, after care homesB+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw89
Adjusted81
Median town88
Expected100
6
GPs in Pignan · 4.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.9 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique Saint Jean Sud de France
5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Clinique Clementville
86.3 · 80.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Hérault, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Degrees are more common in Pignan than in Hérault’s towns or across compared French towns: 38% of adults
The share of residents under 15 is 19%. The 65-and-over age group makes up nearly a fifth of residents. 10% of residents are 15 to 24, about level with both Hérault’s towns (9.7%) and compared French towns (11%).
41.5median age
PignanHérault medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
10%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma14%
CAP or BEP20%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education38%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 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
History
3 historic monuments in Pignan, 1 classé
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Pignan has 3 historic monuments on the Culture ministry’s list: 1 classé, the highest protection, and 2 inscrit, the second level. Among the classé monuments in the town is Abbaye de Vignogoul. The protected list starts in the 10th century. Before 1919: that is when 11% of homes were built.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Safety
Less crime per resident in Pignan than in 53% of compared French towns
Violence against people ran at 5.1 per 1,000 residents a year and the graded property crimes at 15.6 (2023–2025 average). In 2025, 196 offenses were recorded in Pignan. The commonest graded crime here was criminal damage (2025).
5.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB−Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage63
Theft from vehicles27
Vehicle theft26
Family violence25
Burglary24
Other physical violence16
Sexual violence15
Theft without violence53
Fraud52
Drug use47
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
15.6
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
196
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.9%
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 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, 0.9% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
Ensemble médiéval: Photo: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Château des Bashy du Cayla, dit du Comte de Turenne (actuel hôtel de ville): Photo: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.0
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Pignan
Is Pignan safe?
It grades B− for safety, #37 of 84 in Hérault. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 24 burglaries and 63 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pignan good?
They grade B+, better than 72% of compared French towns and #27 of 80 in Hérault. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pignan expensive to live in?
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pignan grades D for cost of living.
About Pignan
Commune in Hérault, Occitanie
Pignan is a commune of 8,431 people in the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. 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.
