A smaller share of households headed by a retired person than 95% of compared French towns: 20%
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 17% of residents are 65 or over in Grabels. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 41%, more than in 72% of compared French towns. There were 4,320 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 9,092 residents. Flats account for 52%.
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 Grabels
Growing fast
Grabels had 6,698 residents at the 2012 census and 9,092 in 2023, up 36%: faster growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many graduates
49% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 21% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Grabels outgrew 98% of compared French towns: +36%
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, +26% to 2017 and +8% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +13% in Hérault.
Grabels is younger than 85% of compared French towns: a median age of 38.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Grabels 38.9. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (12%), Grabels is above just over three quarters of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Grabels, 9% of households are single parents, fewer than in 67% 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
Average household size: 2.1 people. Fewer couples with children than in 58% of compared French towns: 24%. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Grabels ranks below 60% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 10%
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
Second homes: 1.5%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. 11% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 18% moved in within the last two years. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 9.9%, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns.
The median resident lives on €26,690 a year per consumption unit
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 midpoint of living standards here is €26,690 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 58% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 17.0%.
A higher share of households headed by a manager or professional than 88% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
Households headed by a manual worker: 9.1% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 9.6%, a higher share than 69% 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 figure for foreign nationals is 6.4% in Grabels and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 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.
A larger share of single residents than 79% of compared French towns: 30%
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 couples, 39% are married and 7.5% in a PACS (median compared French town: 43% and 6.1%); 3.9% are widowed. Set beside that, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of graduates of higher education than 92% of compared French towns: 49%
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
Here just over one in ten adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
41 French towns of 8,925 to 9,267 people: this is the 8th 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.
Ages run from 34.9 in Magny-le-Hongre to 63.6 in Sarzeau.
Nearby, 4 of 6 towns have older populations than Grabels
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grabels | 38.9 | 17% | 1.5% | 9.6% |
| Juvignac 14,055 · 2.2 mi | 37.7 | 18% | 1.5% | 13% |
| Montferrier-sur-Lez 4,135 · 2.4 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 3% | 6.5% |
| Saint-Clément-de-Rivière 5,218 · 2.7 mi | 50.6 | 34% | 4.4% | 5.8% |
| Saint-Gély-du-Fesc 10,472 · 2.9 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 1.1% | 5.9% |
| Saint-Georges-d'Orques 5,676 · 3.1 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 4.3% | 8.1% |
| Montpellier 310,240 · 3.6 mi | 32.1 | 15% | 4.5% | 19% |
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 Grabels
What is the population of Grabels?
9,092 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 36% more than in 2012 (6,698).
How old are Grabels’ residents?
The median age is 38.9, younger than 85% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Grabels?
70, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Grabels?
INSEE counts 870 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.6% of residents, and 590 foreign nationals (6.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Grabels?
€26,690 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.