Hérault · Occitanie · 45,286 residents
How much does Sète spend?
Mayor: Hervé Marquès since March 2026 · 43 town councillors
What the money pays for in Sète
The 2024 operating expenditure — investment aside — sorted this time by public policy rather than by type of spending.
Sète spends 30 % more per inhabitant than towns of 20,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.
Allocated to a public policyShare of budget against towns of the same size76.4 M€
“elsewhere”: what towns the same size usually devoteSète devotes a larger share of its budgeta smaller share
- General administration22.5M€29 %elsewhere: 30%less than elsewhere (30%)
- Culture, youth and sports14.4M€19 %elsewhere: 21%less than elsewhere (21%)
- Education and training10.2M€13 %elsewhere: 18%less than elsewhere (18%)
- Health and social action8.5M€11 %elsewhere: 12%less than elsewhere (12%)
- Security and public health7.8M€10 %elsewhere: 4%more than elsewhere (4%)
- Environment5.4M€7 %elsewhere: 2%more than elsewhere (2%)
- Regional planning and housing4.4M€6 %elsewhere: 7%less than elsewhere (7%)
- Economic action2M€3 %elsewhere: 1%more than elsewhere (1%)
- Transport1.2M€2 %elsewhere: 2%less than elsewhere (2%)
Shares are computed on the allocated amount, excluding transfers. “Elsewhere”: the median share of towns the same size — half devote more, half less. Source: DGFiP accounting balances.
Spending and revenue
What the town pays for: staff, purchases, debt. 2019–2024 trend on each line.
Spending122.6 M€
Charges de personnel34.2M€28 %Achats et charges externes23.4M€19 %Charges de gestion couranteof which 3 M€ of grants to associations and private bodies17.1M€14 %Charges financières2.5M€2 %Impôts et taxes (charges)1M€1 %Revenue120.6 M€
Property tax in Sète
municipal rate on buildings, set in 2025 · unchanged since 2023
Median for towns of its size band: 41.19%.
In 2024, Sète collected 63.4 M€ in property and residence taxes, or 53% of its revenue.
What the town builds
invested in 2024 · €1,001 per inhabitant
Of which 34 M€ of equipment. That is +18.1 % compared with 2023.
Investment section of the town’s accounts. The rest is funded by the savings made on day-to-day operations.
Debt
per inhabitant at end of 2024 · 79.6 M€ in total
Towns of its size: €894 per inhabitant · −6.6 % per inhabitant since 2018
Outstanding debt and gross savings: OFGL, main budget. The number of years is the debt-repayment capacity, debt divided by gross savings.
What the town buys
in public contracts awarded in 2026 · 53 contracts
Top supplier: Littoral Nettoyage, 1.4 M€, prestations de nettoyage des parkings des halles - du canal et des sanitaires des halles de Sète
All the town’s contracts (528)
Marchés de plus de 40 000 € HT déclarés à la notification (DECP) : montants des contrats, pas les paiements. Les plus petits marchés ne sont pas publiés ; les montants manifestement erronés sont écartés. Years published by the town: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
Compare with another town
Per inhabitant, 2024 accounts, OFGL. Towns of the same département, by size. A town above or below is not better or worse run. Property-tax rate: municipal share only, excluding the inter-municipal body and additional levies, source REI DGFiP.