A median age of 53.3: Olargues is older than 91% of compared French towns
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 3.5% in Olargues and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The town is home to 488 residents in 270 households, by the 2023 Census. About one in 43: that is how common households in social housing are in Olargues (2.3%). At 16%, the share of couples with children is lower than in 88% 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 Olargues
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 130 second homes and occasional dwellings in Olargues, 26% of its 490 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 94% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Olargues had 661 residents at the 2012 census and 488 in 2023, down 26%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 99 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Olargues’ residents are under 53.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Olargues: 20% of homes stand empty, above 99% 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
The figure for second homes is 26% in Olargues and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Flats account for 13%. Just over one in ten households have no car, more than in 51% of compared French towns.
Since 2012, Olargues has changed by −26%, slower than 99% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +13% for the median Hérault town, the change came in two steps: +3% from 2012 to 2017, then −28% to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 88% 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
■ Olargues 53.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 9.1% in Olargues. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Olargues sits above 87% of compared French towns for 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
On average, 1.8 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 9.4%, fewer than in just over three fifths of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €20,680 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.
The median standard of living in Olargues is €20,680 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Olargues: 46% of households are headed by a retired person, above 94% 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
For Olargues, the census puts households headed by a manual worker at 13%. 3.5% of Olargues’ households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 46% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
12% of residents are immigrants, a share 79% 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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 10% in Olargues. Set beside that, 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.
More single residents than 72% of compared French towns: 29%
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
Married residents account for 42%. To put it in context, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Olargues, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 65% 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 Olargues, 32% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (488 to 2,582 people), the 7th 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Olargues
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olargues | 53.3 | 31% | 26% | 12% |
| Bédarieux 5,804 · 13.1 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Murviel-lès-Béziers 3,000 · 14.1 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Puisserguier 3,078 · 14.4 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 8.6% | 7.4% |
| Cazouls-lès-Béziers 5,261 · 14.7 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 6% | 5% |
| Thézan-lès-Béziers 3,124 · 16 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 13% | 6.5% |
| Magalas 3,582 · 16.6 mi | 46.8 | 26% | 18% | 6.4% |
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 Olargues
What is the population of Olargues?
488 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% fewer than in 2012 (661).
How old are Olargues’ residents?
The median age is 53.3, older than 91% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Olargues?
130, with occasional dwellings: 26% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Olargues?
INSEE counts 60 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (10%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Olargues?
€20,680 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 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.