Lavalette: 30% of homes are second homes, above 95% of compared French towns
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 53 people lived in Lavalette, in 27 households. About one in 12: that is how common flats are in Lavalette (8.5%). Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 20% of households are couples with children locally.
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 Lavalette
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 15 second homes and occasional dwellings in Lavalette, 30% of its 49 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 93% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
60% of Lavalette’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 43% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Lavalette had 61 residents at the 2012 census and 53 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Lavalette (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 17% of residents, against 6.8% for the median compared commune in Hérault. 15% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes: 15%, a higher share than 96% 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
Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. 11% of households arrived within the last two years, while 19% have stayed 30 years or more.
Lavalette’s population moved −13% on 2012, less than in 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
The years 2012 to 2017 brought +2%; 2017 to 2023, −15%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Hérault town +13%.
Older than 82% of compared French towns: half of Lavalette is over 49.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Lavalette 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Lavalette comes in at 9.3%. Locally, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
About 80 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.
Lavalette sits above 99% of compared French towns for one-person households (60%)
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
The typical household size is 2 people. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 40% of households are headed by a retired person
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
A fifth of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). Measured more widely, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 88% of compared French towns: 17% of residents are immigrants
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (15%), Lavalette is above 92% of compared French towns. 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.
Lavalette ranks below 90% of compared French towns on married residents: 35%
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
The figure for single residents is 30% in Lavalette and 25% in the typical compared French town. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
9.8% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns
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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Lavalette, 39%. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (53 to 2,582 people), the 14th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Lavalette
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavalette | 49.6 | 26% | 30% | 17% |
| Lodève 7,251 · 3.7 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 5.1% | 12% |
| Bédarieux 5,804 · 7.7 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 8.7 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 11.8 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Canet 3,619 · 12.1 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Caux 2,718 · 13.3 mi | 52 | 28% | 18% | 8% |
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 Lavalette
What is the population of Lavalette?
53 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (61).
How old are Lavalette’s residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 82% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lavalette?
15, with occasional dwellings: 30% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lavalette?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 17% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (15%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.