Single-parent households: 15%, a higher share than 95% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Gignac comes in at 29%. Put another way, about one in five: nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over. On second homes, Gignac sits higher than 63% of compared French towns: 3.1%. In 2023, the Census found 6,651 residents here, living in 2,790 households.
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 Gignac
Growing fast
Gignac had 5,654 residents at the 2012 census and 6,651 in 2023, up 18%: faster growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Gignac’s population changed by +18% since 2012, more than in 87% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +13% for the median Hérault town, the change came in two steps: +10% from 2012 to 2017, then +7% to 2023.
Half of Gignac is under 42.1, younger than 65% 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
■ Gignac 42.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 12% in Gignac and 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Gignac sits above 74% of compared French towns for couples with children (30%)
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
Households average 2.4 people. One-person households are rarer here than in 72% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
26% of homes are flats, below 56% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for nearly one in ten households, residents of 30 years or more for 15%. 7.2% of homes stand empty, more than in 56% of compared French towns. Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 11% of households rent social housing (HLM) here.
€24,510 a year: the median standard of living
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 €24,510 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 66% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 17.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 12% in Gignac, more than in 62% of compared French towns
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 so few households headed by a manual worker: 13% here, fewer than in 53% of compared French towns. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 63% of compared French towns: 8.4%
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.
Put another way, about one in 22: 4.6% of residents are foreign nationals. As a reference point, 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.
Fewer married residents than 76% of compared French towns: 39%
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, the share of single residents is 25%; Gignac has 28%. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of graduates of higher education than 65% of compared French towns, at 34%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification here. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (6,571 to 6,730 people), the 18th 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.
Chasse-sur-Rhône is the youngest (36.3); Châtelaillon-Plage the oldest (59.8).
Around Gignac, 4 of 6 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gignac | 42.1 | 19% | 3.1% | 8.4% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 2.4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Aniane 2,979 · 2.8 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Canet 3,619 · 4.5 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 6.3 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Montarnaud 4,208 · 7.4 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 1.7% | 7.4% |
| Vailhauquès 2,722 · 8.5 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 1.7% | 3.7% |
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 Gignac
What is the population of Gignac?
6,651 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% more than in 2012 (5,654).
How old are Gignac’s residents?
The median age is 42.1, younger than 65% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gignac?
96, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gignac?
INSEE counts 560 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.4% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gignac?
€24,510 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.