Households without a car make up 3.6% in Montferrier-sur-Lez, less than in 96% of compared French towns
Where 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, Montferrier-sur-Lez has 29%. At the 2023 Census Montferrier-sur-Lez was home to 4,135 people in 1,800 households. Locally, 4.1% of households are headed by a manual worker. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 92% of compared French towns.
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 Montferrier-sur-Lez
Many graduates
65% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 39% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Growing fast
Montferrier-sur-Lez had 3,446 residents at the 2012 census and 4,135 in 2023, up 20%: faster growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +20% change since 2012: faster than 90% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +8%, and from 2017 to 2023 +11%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%.
Montferrier-sur-Lez sits above 87% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (30%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montferrier-sur-Lez 49.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 9.2% of residents are 15 to 24 in Montferrier-sur-Lez. With a median age of 49.3, Montferrier-sur-Lez is older than 80% of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
More couples with children than 57% of compared French towns: 27%
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
There are 2.2 people in the average household. Across the comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. At 9.6%, the share of single-parent households is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
4.3% of homes stand empty, below 83% 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
Nearly one in ten households moved in less than two years ago; 26% have been in their home 30 years or more. Lower than in 70% of compared French towns: 19% of homes are flats. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 3%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
€38,560 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €38,560 a year: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 7.0% of residents are below the line.
A higher share of households headed by a manager or professional than 96% of compared French towns, at 28%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 35%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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).
Montferrier-sur-Lez ranks below 69% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 2.7%
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 lower than in 50% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals: 4.3% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Census figures put immigrants at 6.5% in Montferrier-sur-Lez.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 85% of compared French towns, at 48%
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 make up 24%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Montferrier-sur-Lez: 65% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 99% 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 Montferrier-sur-Lez, 6.4% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 4,106 to 4,168 people, the 10th 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.
Chanteloup-en-Brie is the youngest (36.5); Fouras the oldest (62.9).
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Montferrier-sur-Lez
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montferrier-sur-Lez | 49.3 | 30% | 3% | 6.5% |
| Saint-Clément-de-Rivière 5,218 · 1.2 mi | 50.6 | 34% | 4.4% | 5.8% |
| Clapiers 6,006 · 1.7 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 1.9% | 7.2% |
| Prades-le-Lez 6,184 · 2 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 1% | 6.2% |
| Grabels 9,092 · 2.4 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 1.5% | 9.6% |
| Jacou 6,924 · 2.9 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 9.4% |
| Saint-Gély-du-Fesc 10,472 · 3 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 1.1% | 5.9% |
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 Montferrier-sur-Lez
What is the population of Montferrier-sur-Lez?
4,135 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 20% more than in 2012 (3,446).
How old are Montferrier-sur-Lez’s residents?
The median age is 49.3, older than 80% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montferrier-sur-Lez?
57, with occasional dwellings: 3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montferrier-sur-Lez?
INSEE counts 270 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.5% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montferrier-sur-Lez?
€38,560 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 7.0% 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 9, 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.