46% of homes in Vias are second homes
44% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 8.5%. Vias has fewer couples with children than 74% of compared French towns, at 20%. There were 2,880 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 5,952 residents.
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 Vias
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,750 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vias, 46% of its 5,930 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 50% 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 Vias’ residents are under 52.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Vias sits below 80% of compared French towns for households in social housing (6.3%)
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
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 5.1% in Vias. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. Flats: 18% of the total. On households without a car, Vias sits higher than half of compared French towns: 11%.
+11% since 2012, a pace 72% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 change was +7% from 2012 to 2017 and +4% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Hérault town +13%.
Vias is older than 89% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vias 52.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Vias has 31%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
38% of households are one person living alone, a share 63% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 people. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Vias has more single-parent households than 54% of compared French towns, at 10%.
Median standard of living: €22,400 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 €22,400 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 86% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 21.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 94% of compared French towns: 3.8%
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 manual worker trails just over three quarters of compared French towns: 10%. Against that, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 62% of compared French towns: 8.2% of 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 Vias, 5% of residents are foreign nationals. As a reference point, 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.
23% of residents 15 and over are single, below 72% 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
Locally, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 85% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 22% in Vias. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 6th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is La Verrière (35.4), the oldest Ciboure (56.7).
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Vias
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vias | 52.2 | 31% | 46% | 8.2% |
| Agde 29,939 · 3.2 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 66% | 8.3% |
| Bessan 5,838 · 3.7 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 15% | 6.9% |
| Portiragnes 3,530 · 3.8 mi | 53.9 | 32% | 61% | 8.3% |
| Cers 2,503 · 5.6 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 2.8% | 6% |
| Florensac 5,254 · 5.8 mi | 49.8 | 28% | 8.7% | 7.5% |
| Saint-Thibéry 3,132 · 6 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
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 Vias
What is the population of Vias?
5,952 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (5,366).
How old are Vias’ residents?
The median age is 52.2, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vias?
2,750, with occasional dwellings: 46% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vias?
INSEE counts 490 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.2% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vias?
€22,400 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% 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.