La Palme sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (29%)
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 7.8% of households are headed by a manual worker here. On households without a car, La Palme sits lower than 82% of compared French towns: 5.7%. At the 2023 Census La Palme was home to 1,995 people in 910 households. The census found that 7.2% of residents are 15 to 24 locally.
Throughout this page, the Aude median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of La Palme
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 410 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Palme, 29% of its 1,420 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 84% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
La Palme had 1,586 residents at the 2012 census and 1,995 in 2023, up 26%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
La Palme ranks below 82% of compared French towns on flats: 13%
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, against 9.4% in La Palme. To put it in context, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Here, 6.7% of homes stand empty.
La Palme grew +26% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 95% of compared French towns
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +7%, then +18% to 2023. Over those years, the median Aude town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
A median age of 49.5: La Palme is older than 81% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Palme 49.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 29%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 68% of compared French towns: 32%
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Aude median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.2 people. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On single-parent households, La Palme sits lower than 62% of compared French towns: 9.3%. The figure for couples with children is 24% in La Palme and 25% in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €25,410 a year per consumption unit
The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
Living standards centre on €25,410 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 55% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 13.0% of residents.
More households headed by a retired person than 91% of compared French towns: 43%
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 7.8% in La Palme and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.9% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 66% of compared French towns
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
The share of immigrants trails 62% of compared French towns: 5.1%. The benchmark for foreign nationals in the typical compared French town: 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 18%
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
The figure for married residents is 45% in La Palme and 43% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In La Palme, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 76% of compared French towns
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 32% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in La Palme. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
14th highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,995 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
La Palme is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Palme | 49.5 | 29% | 29% | 5.1% |
| Sigean 5,657 · 3.8 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 17% | 5.1% |
| Port-la-Nouvelle 5,852 · 4 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 57% | 5.7% |
| Leucate 4,562 · 7 mi | 63 | 46% | 84% | 6.4% |
| Salses-le-Château 3,965 · 10.6 mi | 42.2 | 23% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Gruissan 5,032 · 11 mi | 58.6 | 38% | 79% | 5% |
| Le Barcarès 6,109 · 11.7 mi | 63.7 | 47% | 77% | 7.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in La Palme
What is the population of La Palme?
1,995 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% more than in 2012 (1,586).
How old are La Palme’s residents?
The median age is 49.5, older than 81% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Palme?
410, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Palme?
INSEE counts 100 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 58 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Palme?
€25,410 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% of residents live below the poverty line. Source: INSEE, Filosofi.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
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.