Benet grades A overall: better than 94% of compared French towns, and #12 of 46 in Vendée. Its weakest subject is walkability (C−): 47% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 5% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. At the median price of €1,621/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.5 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes Vendée, Sèvre, Autise. Its strongest is safety (A+): an average of 3 recorded violent incidents and 8.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
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 Benet 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 Benet.
Safety
Benet records less crime per resident than 96% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie recorded 28 offenses in the graded categories in Benet in 2025. Of the graded crimes in Benet, criminal damage came up most often (2025). For family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, 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, 21.8% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most.
3recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearA+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage18
Burglary10
Armed robbery0
Fraud25
Theft without violence10
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.
3
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
8.4
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
28
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
21.8%
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
Work & commuteJobs & income B+
On foot, Benet works less well than 80% of compared French towns
At the census, 4.8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, close to Vendée’s towns (7.6%) and below compared French towns (13.4%). 6.7% of the labour force are out of work. Benet has 1,150 jobs for 1,800 working residents, 0.6 per worker.
5%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving90%
On foot2%
Bicycle2%
Motorbike or scooter2%
Public transport1%
1,150
jobs based in Benet, 0.6 per working resident
6.7%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€26,570
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 20% of compared French towns
INSEE, census 2023 · Vendée median and France median: the median of compared communes
History
Old homes shape Benet: 23% were built before 1919, more than in Vendée’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Benet sits above both Vendée’s towns (6.3%) and compared French towns (7.4%) on this measure. The Culture ministry lists 2 historic monuments in Benet: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 1 inscrit (the second level). Among the classé monuments in Benet is Église Sainte-Eulalie.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HealthHealth C+
Benet records 91 deaths for every 100 its ages predict, against 85 in Vendée’s towns and 88 in compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
From 2016 to 2025, 542 residents of Benet died, against 470 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 15% more. Its care home for older people (97 places) counts its residents as Benet’s; allowing for it, deaths were 9% below expected. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
−9%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw115
Adjusted91
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Benet · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
7.7 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Niort
7.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Niort
85.5 · 80.2
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vendée, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Benet
Is Benet safe?
It grades A+ for safety, #8 of 46 in Vendée. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 10 burglaries and 18 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Benet good?
They grade A, better than 92% of compared French towns and #7 of 34 in Vendée. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Benet expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €10.84/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Benet grades B+ for cost of living.
About Benet
Commune in Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Benet is a commune of 4,089 people in the Communauté de communes Vendée, Sèvre, Autise. 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.
