Octon ranks above 93% of compared French towns on second homes: 21%
Here 7.4% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. On households in social housing, Octon sits lower than 83% of compared French towns: 5.8%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 521, in 250 households. 6.4% of households are headed by a manual worker.
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 Octon
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 73 second homes and occasional dwellings in Octon, 21% of its 350 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 99% 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.
A smaller share of flats than 91% of compared French towns: 7.6%
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
One household in 19 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Flats make up 30% in the typical compared French town. For Octon, the census puts households without a car at 5.2%. On empty homes, Octon sits higher than three quarters of compared French towns: 9.3%.
Since 2012, Octon has grown +14%, faster than 78% 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 first five years brought +15%; the six to 2023, −1%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%.
A median age of 48: Octon is older than 74% 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
■ Octon 48. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 73% of compared French towns: 26%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 67% of compared French towns, at 22%
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 average household has 2.1 people. At 8.2%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 78% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone; in Octon, 32%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €23,040 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.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
Half of residents live in households above €23,040 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
Above 79% of compared French towns: 16% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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 tops 78% of compared French towns: 38%. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.8% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 63% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 56% of compared French towns. Put another way, about one in 14: 7.4% of residents are immigrants. In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 73% of compared French towns: 46% of residents 15 and over are married
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 about one in four here (26%). Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
In Octon, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 73% 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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Octon comes in at 36%. For comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 521 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Of the 6 towns nearest Octon, 3 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octon | 48 | 26% | 21% | 7.4% |
| Lodève 7,251 · 5.7 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 5.1% | 12% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 6.3 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Bédarieux 5,804 · 7.8 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Canet 3,619 · 9.6 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 9.8 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Caux 2,718 · 10.3 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 Octon
What is the population of Octon?
521 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (459).
How old are Octon’s residents?
The median age is 48, older than 74% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Octon?
73, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Octon?
INSEE counts 38 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.4% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Octon?
€23,040 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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.