Photo: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.0Above 98% of compared French towns: 61% of homes are second homes
1.7% of homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%. Households headed by a retired person account for 42%. At 7.9%, the share of flats is lower than in 91% of compared French towns. Portiragnes counted 3,530 residents and 1,710 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.
What stands out about the people of Portiragnes
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,780 second homes and occasional dwellings in Portiragnes, 61% of its 4,570 homes: higher than in 98% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Portiragnes’ residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Portiragnes sits below 85% of compared French towns for households in social housing (5.2%)
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
In the last two years, 11% of households moved in; at the other end, 14% have stayed 30 years or more. Lower than in 76% of compared French towns: 6.5% of households have no car. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%.
Growth of +9% since 2012 puts Portiragnes ahead of 66% 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 Hérault town changed +13% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −3% and the next six +13%.
Half of Portiragnes is over 53.9, older than 92% 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
■ Portiragnes 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 32%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. 8.3% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Below 74% of compared French towns: 20% of households are couples with children
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
Average household size: 2.1 people. To put it in context, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone; in Portiragnes, 34%.
Median living standard: €25,260 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 midpoint of living standards here is €25,260 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 57% of compared French towns. Some 16.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Portiragnes sits below 80% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (9.4%)
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
Households headed by a manager or professional: 7.9%, below three fifths of compared French towns. Against that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 6.7% in Portiragnes, more than in 68% of compared French towns
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 share of immigrants tops 62% of compared French towns: 8.3%. As a yardstick, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Single residents: 20%, a lower share than 91% of compared French towns
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
With married residents at 47%, Portiragnes is ahead of 79% of compared French towns on that count. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
17% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 62% 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 Portiragnes, 28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Against that, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 3,512 to 3,548
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Rubelles is the youngest (34.9); Deauville the oldest (63.3).
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Portiragnes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portiragnes | 53.9 | 32% | 61% | 8.3% |
| Cers 2,503 · 2.3 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 2.8% | 6% |
| Villeneuve-lès-Béziers 4,500 · 3.3 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 8.1% | 7.3% |
| Vias 5,952 · 3.8 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 46% | 8.2% |
| Sérignan 8,588 · 3.9 mi | 54.2 | 35% | 21% | 6.3% |
| Sauvian 5,608 · 4.5 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Valras-Plage 4,432 · 4.6 mi | 67 | 54% | 70% | 6.3% |
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 Portiragnes
What is the population of Portiragnes?
3,530 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (3,243).
How old are Portiragnes’ residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Portiragnes?
2,780, with occasional dwellings: 61% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Portiragnes?
INSEE counts 290 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.3% of residents, and 240 foreign nationals (6.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Portiragnes?
€25,260 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% 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 8, 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.