Households in social housing: 5.1%, a lower share than 86% of compared French towns
5.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The share of single-parent households stands at 13%. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 14%, fewer than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns. Paulhan counted 4,039 residents and 1,800 households at the 2023 Census.
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.
Paulhan grew +7% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 60% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Hérault town +13%. The change was +4% from 2012 to 2017 and +3% from 2017 to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over: 25%, a higher share than 67% 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
■ Paulhan 44.9. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 44.9, Paulhan is older than 56% of compared French towns. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Across Paulhan, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Below 63% of compared French towns: 33% of households are one person living alone
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 2.2 people. Paulhan has more couples with children than 52% of compared French towns, at 26%. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%.
4% of homes are second homes, more than in 71% 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
Here 8.7% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Nearly one in ten households have no car.
At the median, €22,930 a year to live on
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.
At €22,930 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 82% of compared French towns. 18.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
Paulhan sits above 64% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (16%)
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 58% of compared French towns: 34%. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.1% of Paulhan’s 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.
In Paulhan, 3.5% of residents are foreign nationals. That is lower than in 53% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Hérault has 6.8%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Paulhan sits below 64% of compared French towns for married residents (41%)
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
25% of residents 15 and over are single, or about one in four. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 68% 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
At 20%, the share of adults with no qualification is higher than in 57% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (4,012 to 4,065 people), the 17th 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.
Ages run from 36.3 in Fay-de-Bretagne to 66.9 in Vaux-sur-Mer.
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Paulhan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulhan | 44.9 | 25% | 4% | 6.1% |
| Saint-Pargoire 2,501 · 3.2 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 6.3% | 2.8% |
| Montagnac 4,515 · 4.3 mi | 45.2 | 26% | 7.5% | 12% |
| Canet 3,619 · 4.7 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 3.2% | 4% |
| Caux 2,718 · 5.4 mi | 52 | 28% | 18% | 8% |
| Pézenas 7,797 · 6.1 mi | 52.5 | 32% | 11% | 10% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 6.3 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
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 Paulhan
What is the population of Paulhan?
4,039 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (3,769).
How old are Paulhan’s residents?
The median age is 44.9, older than 56% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Paulhan?
82, with occasional dwellings: 4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Paulhan?
INSEE counts 250 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.1% of residents, and 140 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Paulhan?
€22,930 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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.