A median age of 37.7: Castelnau-le-Lez is younger than 89% of compared French towns
In Castelnau-le-Lez, just over a fifth of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. At 65%, the share of flats is higher than in 87% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 26,058 residents and 13,510 households here. For Castelnau-le-Lez, the census puts couples with children at 17%.
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.
What stands out about the people of Castelnau-le-Lez
Growing fast
Castelnau-le-Lez had 16,664 residents at the 2012 census and 26,058 in 2023, up 56%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many graduates
56% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 27% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
A young town
Half of Castelnau-le-Lez’s residents are under 37.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 14% are under 15 and 19% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Castelnau-le-Lez’s households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 32% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Castelnau-le-Lez grew +56% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 99% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +23%, and from 2017 to 2023 +27%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 90% of compared French towns: 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Castelnau-le-Lez 37.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 19%, Castelnau-le-Lez is behind 69% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 49% in Castelnau-le-Lez, more than in 92% 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 Hérault median and the France median
Living alone · share
Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.4%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.9 people.
Households without a car make up 15% in Castelnau-le-Lez, more than in 69% of compared French towns
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
Little separates the share of second homes here, 2.9%, from the figure in the typical compared French town. 5.1% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 73% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 18% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 10%.
A typical living standard of €28,200 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.
The median standard of living in Castelnau-le-Lez is €28,200 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 72% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 14.7% of residents.
More households headed by a manager or professional than 91% of compared French towns: 22%
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 share of households headed by a manual worker is 6.4%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More immigrants than 74% of compared French towns: 11%
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.
Foreign nationals: 6.8% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 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.
Only 33% of residents 15 and over are married in Castelnau-le-Lez
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
In the typical compared French town, 25% of residents 15 and over are single; in Castelnau-le-Lez, 33%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A larger share of graduates of higher education than 96% of compared French towns: 56%
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 19% in the typical compared French town, just over one in ten adults out of school have no qualification in Castelnau-le-Lez. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 13th youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 31 in Grigny to 55.2 in Biarritz.
Castelnau-le-Lez 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castelnau-le-Lez | 37.7 | 19% | 2.9% | 11% |
| Jacou 6,924 · 1.7 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 9.4% |
| Clapiers 6,006 · 1.7 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 1.9% | 7.2% |
| Le Crès 9,226 · 1.8 mi | 44.5 | 24% | 1.2% | 6.8% |
| Saint-Aunès 4,530 · 2.7 mi | 40 | 17% | 0.8% | 7.6% |
| Montpellier 310,240 · 3 mi | 32.1 | 15% | 4.5% | 19% |
| Teyran 4,787 · 3.2 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 1.2% | 3.6% |
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 Castelnau-le-Lez
What is the population of Castelnau-le-Lez?
26,058 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 56% more than in 2012 (16,664).
How old are Castelnau-le-Lez’s residents?
The median age is 37.7, younger than 89% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Castelnau-le-Lez?
430, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Castelnau-le-Lez?
INSEE counts 2,830 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 1,780 foreign nationals (6.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Castelnau-le-Lez?
€28,200 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.7% 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 9, 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.