A median age of 65.3: Sorbs is older than 99% of compared French towns
Flats make up 6%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. There were 25 households in Sorbs at the 2023 Census, home to 40 residents. Locally, four in five households are headed by a retired person. This Hérault town has fewer households without a car than 64% of compared French towns, at 8.3%.
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 Sorbs
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sorbs, 49% of its 69 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Sorbs’ residents are under 65.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 51% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
60% of Sorbs’ households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 35% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 10 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 49% in Sorbs, more than in 97% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Locally, 15% of homes stand empty. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. One household in 12 has no car (median compared French town: 11%).
Growth of +8% since 2012 puts Sorbs ahead of 64% 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: −5% from 2012 to 2017, then +14% to 2023.
51% of residents are 65 or over, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sorbs 65.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in Sorbs, 2.6%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
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%.
A larger share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 60%
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
Households average 1.6 people. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
The largest group of households: retired (80%)
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 manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 0% of Sorbs’ 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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Sorbs ranks below 64% of compared French towns on single residents: 24%
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
Census figures put married residents at 42% in Sorbs. The usual figure: a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in Sorbs
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
Graduates of higher education account for 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 40 to 2,582 people
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 Sorbs (65.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Sorbs
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorbs | 65.3 | 51% | 49% | 0% |
| Lodève 7,251 · 11.8 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 5.1% | 12% |
| Le Vigan 3,863 · 12.3 mi | 54.8 | 34% | 11% | 12% |
| Ganges 3,724 · 15.7 mi | 52.8 | 35% | 3.5% | 9.8% |
| Aniane 2,979 · 17.1 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis 6,427 · 17.7 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.2% | 6.1% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Londres 2,696 · 17.9 mi | 45 | 21% | 5.4% | 4.2% |
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 Sorbs
What is the population of Sorbs?
40 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (37).
How old are Sorbs’ residents?
The median age is 65.3, older than 99% of compared French towns. 2.6% are under 18 and 51% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sorbs?
34, with occasional dwellings: 49% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sorbs?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.