Riols is older than 92% of compared French towns: a median age of 53.9
In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children; in Riols, 15%. Census day 2023: 708 residents and 370 households locally. 0.6% of households rent social housing (HLM). More households headed by a retired person than in 94% of compared French towns: 46%.
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 Riols
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 170 second homes and occasional dwellings in Riols, 26% of its 670 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Riols’ residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 130 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Riols had 766 residents at the 2012 census and 708 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 20%
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 10 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Locally, 26% of homes are second homes. Flats are rarer here than in 92% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A −8% change since 2012: slower than 94% 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 ±0%, and from 2017 to 2023 −8%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Hérault town +13%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Riols 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In Riols, 29% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 3.9% in Riols, less than in 99% of compared French towns
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
Each household has 1.9 people on average. On one-person households, Riols sits higher than 64% of compared French towns: 39%. As a yardstick, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €22,990 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.
Living standards centre on €22,990 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manual worker than 85% of compared French towns: 8.5%
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
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Riols, 5.6%. 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).
Immigrants make up 5.9% of Riols’ residents
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 55% of compared French towns. Put another way, about one in 17: 5.9% of residents are immigrants. Riols sits close to the norm on foreign nationals: 4.4%, about the same as 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 86% of compared French towns: 21%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 47% in Riols. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Riols ranks below 82% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 21%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification here. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 708 to 2,582
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.
Every neighbor is younger than Riols
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riols | 53.9 | 29% | 26% | 5.9% |
| Puisserguier 3,078 · 15.6 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 8.6% | 7.4% |
| Cazouls-lès-Béziers 5,261 · 17.3 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 6% | 5% |
| Ouveillan 2,713 · 17.4 mi | 44.5 | 25% | 7.3% | 5.8% |
| Capestang 3,514 · 17.7 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 8.6% | 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 Riols
What is the population of Riols?
708 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (766).
How old are Riols’ residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Riols?
170, with occasional dwellings: 26% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Riols?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.9% of residents, and 31 foreign nationals (4.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Riols?
€22,990 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.