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Etang thau marseillanPhoto: The original uploader was ByB at French Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 2.5
57.8median age
Who lives here · INSEE, census 2023

Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Marseillan is over 57.8

Couples with children make up 14%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, empty homes are scarce here: 0.4%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 8,414 residents and 4,350 households in Marseillan. Households headed by a manual worker account for 8.4%.

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 · In brief

What stands out about the people of Marseillan

One home in two is a second home

The census counted 6,490 second homes and occasional dwellings in Marseillan, 60% of its 10,880 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 40% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓

An older town

Half of Marseillan’s residents are under 57.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓

Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.

Homes & cars

In Marseillan, 60% of homes are second homes, more than in 98% 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.

6,490second homes and occasional dwellings, 60% of Marseillan’s 10,880 homes

All homes · share of homes

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Main residences40%
Second homes60%
Empty0.4%
0%50%100%

Type of home

Marseillan
Hérault median
France median
HousesFlats

Cars per household · share of households

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
No car11%
One car58%
Two or more32%
0%35%70%

Flats make up 47%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Census figures put households in social housing at 7.6% in Marseillan. 11% of households have no car, a higher share than in 50% of compared French towns. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town.

Population

A +7% change since 2012: Marseillan grew faster than 58% 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.

Census 2012
7,884
residents
Census 2017
7,778
residents
Census 2023
8,414
residents
in today’s commune boundaries

2012 to 2023

Marseillan+7%
Hérault median+13%
France median+5%

2017 to 2023

Marseillan+8%
Hérault median+6%
France median+2%

For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%. The first five years brought −1%; the six to 2023, +8%.

Ages

38% of residents are 65 or over, a share 97% of compared French towns don’t reach

Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.

Age groups · share of residents

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Under 1512%
15 to 247.2%
25 to 4416%
45 to 6427%
65 and over38%
of whom 80 and over9.6%
0%25%50%

Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns

2535455565

■ Marseillan 57.8. The median compared French town: 44.

Here 7.2% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.

Women and men · all residents

53% women, 47% men

Marseillan
Hérault median
France median
WomenMen

About 88 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.

Households

Marseillan sits above 77% of compared French towns for one-person households (42%)

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.

One person 42%Couple, no children 33%Couple with children 14%Single parent 8.8%Several people, not a family 1.3%

Against the Hérault median and the France median

Marseillan
Hérault median
France median
One personCouple, no childrenCouple with childrenSingle parentSeveral people, not a family

Living alone · share

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
One-person households42%
Residents 65+ living alone32%
0%25%50%

The typical household size is 1.9 people. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up about one in 11 here (8.8%).

Income

Median standard of living: €23,800 a year

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.

Median standard of living
€23,800
a year, per consumption unit (2023)
Medians: Hérault €25,355 · France €25,970
Poverty rate
19.0%
of residents below 60% of France’s median standard of living
Medians: Hérault 16.0% · France 13.0%

Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.

At €23,800 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 74% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 19.0%.

Households by occupation

Households headed by a retired person make up 49% in Marseillan, more than in 97% 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

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Retired49%
Managers and professionals5.2%
Intermediate occupations8.9%
Clerical and service workers13%
Manual workers8.4%
Craftspeople, shopkeepers, business owners7.8%
Farmers1.8%
Others not working5.7%
0%30%60%
Unemployment rate
16.8%
of economically active residents 15 to 64 (census 2023)
Median of compared communes: 10.1%
Working residents
2,610
aged 15 or older

In Marseillan, 5.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.

Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).

Immigrants and foreign nationals

More immigrants than 61% of compared French towns: 8.2%

INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.

Immigrants
690
8.2% of residents
Median of compared communes: 6.5%
Foreign nationals
490
5.8% of residents
Median of compared communes: 4.3%

Share of residents · census 2023

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Immigrants8.2%
Foreign nationals5.8%
0%5%10%

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.

Here 5.8% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. 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.

Couples

Below 81% of compared French towns: 22% of residents 15 and over are single

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

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Married43%
In a civil partnership (PACS)5.3%
Living together, unmarried11%
Single22%
Divorced10%
Widowed9.6%
0%25%50%

For Marseillan, the census puts married residents at 43%. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.

Qualifications

Below 72% of compared French towns: 24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification

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

MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
No diploma (or primary certificate)23%
Brevet7.1%
CAP or BEP (vocational)26%
Baccalauréat19%
Bac+29.3%
Bac+3 or bac+47.9%
Bac+5 or more6.8%
0%15%30%

In Marseillan, 23% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.

Towns its size

Ranked by age, 4th oldest of 41 French towns this size

The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.

Marseillan 57.8
GroslaySaint-Gilles-Croix-de-VieGennes-Val-de-Loire
365165

The youngest is Groslay (37.9), the oldest Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (63.7).

Neighbors

Every neighbor is younger than Marseillan

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.

AgdeFlorensacBessanViasMèzeSaint-ThibéryMarseillan
Under 3838–4444–5050–5656+
TownMedian age65+Second homesImmigrants
Marseillan57.838%60%8.2%
Agde
29,939 · 4.1 mi
56.236%66%8.3%
Florensac
5,254 · 4.1 mi
49.828%8.7%7.5%
Bessan
5,838 · 5.6 mi
44.623%15%6.9%
Vias
5,952 · 6.2 mi
52.231%46%8.2%
Mèze
12,669 · 6.7 mi
52.331%14%7.3%
Saint-Thibéry
3,132 · 6.7 mi
42.521%7.5%6.6%
More about Marseillan

Health, work, housing and schools

How to read these numbers

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 Marseillan

What is the population of Marseillan?

8,414 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (7,884).

How old are Marseillan’s residents?

The median age is 57.8, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.

How many second homes are there in Marseillan?

6,490, with occasional dwellings: 60% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.

How many immigrants live in Marseillan?

INSEE counts 690 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.2% of residents, and 490 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.

What is the median income in Marseillan?

€23,800 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 19.0% 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.