18% of homes in Narbonne are second homes
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Narbonne comes in at 15%. Census figures put flats at 60% in the town. Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 20%, more than in 84% of compared French towns. 57,587 residents in 30,140 households: that is Narbonne at the 2023 Census.
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 Narbonne
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 7,010 second homes and occasional dwellings in Narbonne, 18% of its 39,800 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 40% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Narbonne’s households are one person: higher than in 91% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Narbonne ranks above 73% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 18%
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
Long tenure is the mark of 13% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 17% (under two years). Measured more widely, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 51% of compared French towns: 6.6% of homes stand empty. Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%.
From 2012 to 2023, Narbonne outgrew 72% of compared French towns: +11%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +4% for the median Aude town, the change came in two steps: +5% from 2012 to 2017, then +5% to 2023.
Narbonne: 27% of residents are 65 or over, above 74% 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
■ Narbonne 46.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 12% of residents are 15 to 24 in Narbonne. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 46.4, Narbonne is older than nearly two thirds of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Narbonne: 48% of households are one person living alone, above 91% of compared French towns
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
The typical household size is 1.9 people. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. For Narbonne, the census puts single-parent households at 12%.
Median standard of living: €22,220 a year
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 €22,220 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 87% of compared French towns. Some 25.9% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Below 70% of compared French towns: 11% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Where nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Narbonne has 7.4%. Just over a third of households are headed by a retired person, a higher share than in 63% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 71% of compared French towns: 10%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Narbonne, 7.1%. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Narbonne, 35% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 88% of compared French towns
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
Single residents: 31% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 61% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. The comparison figure for adults with no qualification is 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 52,763 to 62,945 people: this is the 4th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Vaulx-en-Velin (32.5), the youngest, and Hyères (50.9), the oldest.
Narbonne sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narbonne | 46.4 | 27% | 18% | 10% |
| Vinassan 2,662 · 3.9 mi | 48 | 24% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Coursan 5,737 · 4.5 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 3.7% | 5.8% |
| Cuxac-d'Aude 4,079 · 4.7 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 4% | 5.2% |
| Sallèles-d'Aude 3,179 · 6.3 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 9.3% | 6.1% |
| Gruissan 5,032 · 6.9 mi | 58.6 | 38% | 79% | 5% |
| Salles-d'Aude 3,369 · 7 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 15% | 4.4% |
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 Narbonne
What is the population of Narbonne?
57,587 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (51,869).
How old are Narbonne’s residents?
The median age is 46.4, older than 66% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Narbonne?
7,010, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Narbonne?
INSEE counts 5,810 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 4,110 foreign nationals (7.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Narbonne?
€22,220 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.9% 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.