Saint-Chinian is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.3
The share of households in social housing trails 88% of compared French towns: 4.6%. In Saint-Chinian, 17% of households are couples with children. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in three quarters of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,811 people lived in the town, in 890 households.
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 Saint-Chinian
An older town
Half of Saint-Chinian’s residents are under 58.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 320 homes empty (24%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2012, behind 70% 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 change was −8%; from 2017 to 2023, +8%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Hérault town +13%.
38% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% 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
■ Saint-Chinian 58.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 7.6% of residents are 15 to 24 here. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Saint-Chinian, 41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 72% 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
On average, 1.9 people share a household. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. One in ten households are single parents, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns.
In Saint-Chinian, 24% of homes stand empty, more than in 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
Long tenure is the mark of 20% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 11% (under two years). Few places have as many second homes: 10% here, more than in 88% of compared French towns. For empty homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. With flats at 16%, Saint-Chinian is behind just over three quarters of compared French towns on that count.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,520 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,520 a year: lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
Saint-Chinian ranks above 91% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 44%
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
Here 11% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Saint-Chinian, 8.8% of residents are immigrants, more than in 64% 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.
With foreign nationals at 6.3%, Saint-Chinian is ahead of 66% of compared French towns on that count. Typically, 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.
Saint-Chinian ranks below 72% of compared French towns on single residents: 23%
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
44% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 56% of compared French towns. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 77% 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 the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Saint-Chinian, 22%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 1,811 to 2,582 people, the 4th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Saint-Chinian is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Chinian | 58.3 | 38% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Puisserguier 3,078 · 6 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 8.6% | 7.4% |
| Cazouls-lès-Béziers 5,261 · 8 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 6% | 5% |
| Capestang 3,514 · 8.2 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 8.6% | 9% |
| Ouveillan 2,713 · 9.2 mi | 44.5 | 25% | 7.3% | 5.8% |
| Murviel-lès-Béziers 3,000 · 9.9 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Montady 3,990 · 10.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 3.2% | 5.6% |
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 Saint-Chinian
What is the population of Saint-Chinian?
1,811 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,813).
How old are Saint-Chinian’s residents?
The median age is 58.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Chinian?
140, with occasional dwellings: 10% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Chinian?
INSEE counts 160 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.8% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Chinian?
€22,520 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.