Fewer households in social housing than 93% of compared French towns: 3.2%
Just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Canet. Across Canet, nearly one in ten homes are flats. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 72% of compared French towns: 19%. This Hérault town is home to 3,619 residents in 1,490 households, by the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Hérault 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.
+6% since 2012, a pace 55% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
The first five years brought +3%; the six to 2023, +3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%.
A median age of 42.4: Canet is younger than 63% 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
■ Canet 42.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Locally, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Canet sits above 84% of compared French towns for couples with children (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 Hérault median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.4 people. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Compared with other places, single-parent households are common here: 13%, more than in 86% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households without a car than 77% of compared French towns: 6.4%
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
Car-free households: one in 16, where the median compared French town has 11%. The census found that 3.2% of homes are second homes in Canet. Fewer empty homes than in 56% of compared French towns: 6.3%.
€25,390 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
The median standard of living in Canet is €25,390 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 56% of compared French towns. Some 13.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Canet ranks below 77% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 27%
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
On the census count, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 73% of compared French towns: 4%
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 Canet, 2.1% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
Married residents: 46%, a higher share than 74% 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 make up 23%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Canet ranks below 63% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 17%
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, or about one in three. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
41 French towns of 3,594 to 3,648 people: this is the 12th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Lizy-sur-Ourcq is the youngest (37.6); Plestin-les-Grèves the oldest (61.5).
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Canet
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canet | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 3 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 3.4 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Gignac 6,651 · 4.5 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 3.1% | 8.4% |
| Paulhan 4,039 · 4.7 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 4% | 6.1% |
| Saint-Pargoire 2,501 · 5.6 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 6.3% | 2.8% |
| Aniane 2,979 · 7.3 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
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 Canet
What is the population of Canet?
3,619 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (3,413).
How old are Canet’s residents?
The median age is 42.4, younger than 63% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Canet?
53, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Canet?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4% of residents, and 76 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Canet?
€25,390 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.