Photo: Archives départementales de l'Hérault (France) DAASI · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Colombiers is over 53.9
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 4.5% in Colombiers. Fewer households headed by a manual worker than in just over three quarters of compared French towns: 10%. The 2023 Census counted 2,814 residents in 1,330 households. In Colombiers, 8.2% of households rent social housing (HLM).
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 Colombiers
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 190 second homes and occasional dwellings in Colombiers, 12% of its 1,600 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 44% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Colombiers’ residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Colombiers had 2,337 residents at the 2012 census and 2,814 in 2023, up 20%: faster growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 12% in Colombiers, more than in 89% 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
In the typical compared French town, 11% of households have no car; in Colombiers, 8.3%. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. For Colombiers, the census puts flats at 23%.
Colombiers grew +20% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 91% 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
In two steps, +6% to 2017 and +13% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +13% in Hérault.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 94% of compared French towns, at 7.7%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Colombiers 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 32% here and 22% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer couples with children than 76% of compared French towns: 20%
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
12% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.1 people each. Colombiers has fewer one-person households than just over half of compared French towns, at 35%.
A typical living standard of €25,410 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €25,410 a year: lower than in 55% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 16.0%.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 77% of compared French towns, at 38%
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
Few places have as many households headed by a manager or professional: 10% here, more than in 55% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person make up 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 3.3% in Colombiers, less than in 61% 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 median compared commune in Hérault has 6.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 52% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 6.3% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 21% of residents 15 and over are single in Colombiers
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
46% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 64% of compared French towns: 26%
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
At 18%, the share of adults with no qualification is lower than in 57% of compared French towns. For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (2,784 to 2,844 people), the 6th 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.
Ages run from 37.7 in Miremont to 59 in Vendays-Montalivet.
No nearby town is as old as Colombiers
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombiers | 53.9 | 32% | 12% | 6.3% |
| Montady 3,990 · 1.9 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 3.2% | 5.6% |
| Nissan-lez-Enserune 4,124 · 2 mi | 47.9 | 26% | 5.7% | 5.6% |
| Lespignan 3,414 · 3 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 7% | 5.1% |
| Maraussan 4,789 · 3.8 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 2.8% | 5% |
| Béziers 81,545 · 4.8 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 4.3% | 17% |
| Lignan-sur-Orb 3,227 · 5.1 mi | 50.8 | 30% | 1.8% | 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 Colombiers
What is the population of Colombiers?
2,814 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 20% more than in 2012 (2,337).
How old are Colombiers’ residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Colombiers?
190, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Colombiers?
INSEE counts 180 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.3% of residents, and 92 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Colombiers?
€25,410 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% 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.