Empty homes make up 0.9% in Magalas, less than in 99% of compared French towns
One-person households make up 26%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. For Magalas, the census puts households in social housing at 3.1%. Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than in 92% of compared French towns: 4.1%. Census day 2023: 3,582 residents and 1,480 households in the town.
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 Magalas
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 330 second homes and occasional dwellings in Magalas, 18% of its 1,830 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
18% of homes are second homes, a share 93% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
By its share of flats (7.4%), Magalas is below 91% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 6.5%.
Magalas grew +12% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 74% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +4%, then +7% to 2023. Over those years, the median Hérault town changed +13% and the median compared French town +5%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 26%, a higher share than 72% 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
■ Magalas 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.8, Magalas is older than 68% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Roughly one in ten: one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Magalas ranks above 70% of compared French towns on couples with children: 29%
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 here average 2.4 people each. By way of comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 8.9% of households are single parents, fewer than in 68% of compared French towns.
€24,860 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €24,860 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 62% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 15.0% of residents.
More households headed by a retired person than 88% of compared French towns: 42%
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
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households are headed by a manual worker here. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Magalas: 6.4% 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.
Put another way, about one in 16: 6.4% of residents are immigrants. That is lower than in 51% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Hérault has 6.8%. At 4.2%, the share of foreign nationals is in line with the figure 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.
20% of residents 15 and over are single, below 90% of compared French towns
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 married residents is 48% in Magalas and 43% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 66% of compared French towns, at 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
Across Magalas, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,550 to 3,611 people), the 18th 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 Neuilly-Crimolois (37.2), the oldest Montrichard Val de Cher (57.5).
5 of 6 neighbors are older than Magalas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magalas | 46.8 | 26% | 18% | 6.4% |
| Murviel-lès-Béziers 3,000 · 4.5 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Thézan-lès-Béziers 3,124 · 4.6 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 13% | 6.5% |
| Servian 5,517 · 5.3 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 5.9% | 6.5% |
| Lignan-sur-Orb 3,227 · 6.6 mi | 50.8 | 30% | 1.8% | 4.9% |
| Boujan-sur-Libron 3,619 · 7 mi | 49.6 | 31% | 3.5% | 3.7% |
| Caux 2,718 · 7.7 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 Magalas
What is the population of Magalas?
3,582 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (3,212).
How old are Magalas’ residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Magalas?
330, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Magalas?
INSEE counts 230 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.4% of residents, and 150 foreign nationals (4.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Magalas?
€24,860 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.0% 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 8, 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.