A median age of 52.3: Lodève is older than 89% of compared French towns
The share of households without a car tops 82% of compared French towns: 19%. For Lodève, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 41%. Lower than in 86% of compared French towns: 17% of households are couples with children. Its 3,570 households held 7,251 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 Lodève
An older town
Half of Lodève’s residents are under 52.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 570 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −4% since 2012 leaves Lodève behind 85% 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, −1% to 2017 and −3% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +13% in Hérault.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 87% of compared French towns: 31%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Lodève 52.3. The median compared French town: 44.
9.2% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Lodève ranks above 86% of compared French towns on one-person households: 46%
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 1.9 people. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town. 12% of households are single parents, more than in 78% of compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 13% in Lodève, more than in 91% 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 that moved in under two years ago: 11%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 15%. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town. 5.1% of homes are second homes, a higher share than in 77% of compared French towns. With flats at 51%, Lodève is ahead of 76% of compared French towns on that count.
At the median, €20,130 a year to live on
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.
Half of Lodève’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,130 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 96% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 30.0%.
5.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 81% 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 11%, below 71% of compared French towns. As a reference point, nearly one in ten 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).
Lodève ranks above 77% of compared French towns on immigrants: 12%
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 higher than in 77% of compared French towns. Across Lodève, 7.4% of residents are foreign nationals. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
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 84% of compared French towns: 37%
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
Single residents: 30% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Lodève sits above 69% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (23%)
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
For Lodève, the census puts graduates of higher education at 29%. Elsewhere, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
2nd highest median age among 41 French towns of 7,167 to 7,336
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Courdimanche is the youngest (36); Perros-Guirec the oldest (62.4).
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than Lodève
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodève | 52.3 | 31% | 5.1% | 12% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 9.1 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 11 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Bédarieux 5,804 · 11.4 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Canet 3,619 · 12.3 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Gignac 6,651 · 12.9 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 3.1% | 8.4% |
| Aniane 2,979 · 13.9 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 4.9% | 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 Lodève
What is the population of Lodève?
7,251 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (7,552).
How old are Lodève’s residents?
The median age is 52.3, older than 89% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lodève?
220, with occasional dwellings: 5.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lodève?
INSEE counts 860 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 540 foreign nationals (7.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lodève?
€20,130 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 30.0% 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 October 30, 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.