OUR ADVANTAGES

• Excellence is the golden rule for Montpellier Métropole

  With its long history linked to medicine and research, Montpellier is a stronghold for research and higher education. Montpellier features one of the world’s oldest still active schools of medicine, now over 800 years old. This quality now takes on a new dimension with the University’s I-Site Excellence Program, accredited in March 2022 as a permanent project. The program is the only I-SITE in the Occitanie region, focusing – like MedVallée – on the planet-wide challenges of global health: “feed, care, and protect”  

• Montpellier, France’s #1 city for students

  It is an understatement to say that Montpellier attracts talent! In its 2023-24 ranking, the magazine L’Étudiant places Montpellier in the top spot as the best city in France for students. Students surveyed highlighted the city’s vitality, beautiful architecture, and relaxed lifestyle. With over 17% of the local population enrolled in higher education, Montpellier is truly a student city!

• Relaxed lifestyle combined with business vitality

  With its ongoing dedication to environmental and social responsibility, Montpellier takes as much care of its living environment as it does of stimulating business growth by supporting innovation. Public transportation is free for residents, bike lanes are being developed throughout the area, and speed limits are being lowered. We work hard to preserves our natural resources and heritage. In addition to its gentle Mediterranean climate and 2,822 hours of sunshine a year, the area is also a thriving scene for business!  

• Demographic dynamism and surging job growth

  In the Montpellier employment area, the number of actively employed people is rising by 1.6% per year, nearly three times the rate for the Occitanie region overall (+0.6%/year). This dynamism is accompanied by France’s highest demographic growth. 50% of the metropolitan area’s population is under the age of 34. We welcome more than 300 new arrivals every month. Montpellier also benefits from a skilled labor pool, as reflected in its high proportion of graduates. Our dense university network contributes to this performance.

• Exceptional connectivity to the world

  The Montpellier area is a major intersection for exchange, with an international airport, two TGV train stations, the deep-water port in Sète, and a road network comprising the major A9 and A75 motorways. Access to national and international markets is particularly easy. World leaders such as Ubisoft, Dell, Veolia, Engie, Horiba, Sanofi, Computacenter, Alstom, and others have long-understood the benefits of being here. Not only that, but our geographical location offers major advantages for developing renewable energies. All of France’s major windmill, photovoltaic, and green hydrogen power providers are present and active locally.

• Accelerating success

  Montpellier has made supporting startups and business growth one of its top priorities. It’s a matter of tradition, as Montpellier was one of the first places in Europe to set up a Business Innovation Centre (BIC) to support the development of innovative companies. That was back in 1987, when we created Cap Alpha.

• Facilitating creativity and entrepreneurship

  A city in constant motion, where art, creativity, and entrepreneurship are elevated by a wide range of policies and projects, Montpellier has embraced a proactive strategy to support the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), in addition to stimulating innovation in all its forms, facilitating access to financing, and providing work spaces adapted to specific business needs. Montpellier, THE place where creativity thrives.

• Excellence sectors recognized internationally 

  Montpellier’s areas of excellence combine the talent of its research laboratories, universities, and businesses in health, digital technology, agro-ecology, the environment, and more. This is one reason why Montpellier launched the MedVallée initiative: to help make the territory a world-class excellence hub in Global Health. MedVallée is jointly led with the French government and the Occitanie region.

ENTREPRENEURS, FOUNDERS, AND INVESTORS: 

NOW’S THE TIME FOR YOU TO CHOOSE MONTPELLIER!

Sources :

[1] [2] [3] Arthur Loyd Survey, 2024