Photo: Yodie · CC BY-SA 3.0A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 93% of compared French towns, at 4%
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 10% in Lapalud. Locally, 30% of households are couples with children. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 67% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Lapalud was home to 3,853 people in 1,630 households.
Throughout this page, the Vaucluse 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.
Slower than most: −3% since 2012, behind 81% 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 +7% for the median Vaucluse town, the change came in two steps: −4% from 2012 to 2017, then +1% to 2023.
Half of Lapalud is under 41.5, younger than 69% 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
■ Lapalud 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
19% of Lapalud’s residents are 65 or older, against 23% in the median Vaucluse town and 22% in the median compared French town; 24% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vaucluse 51.9%, France 51.8%.
30% of households are one person living alone, below 77% 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 Vaucluse median and the France median
Living alone · share
Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.3%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.3 people share a household. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Lapalud sits below 70% of compared French towns for flats (19%)
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 13 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Census figures put households without a car at 7.9% in Lapalud. At 3.7%, the share of second homes is higher than in 68% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €23,790 a year to live on
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 €23,790 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 74% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 18.0% of residents.
Lapalud sits above 97% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (26%)
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
A third of households are headed by a retired person, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 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).
Immigrants make up 6.6% of Lapalud’s 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.
About one in 27: that is how common foreign nationals are in Lapalud (3.7%). That is higher than in 50% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Vaucluse has 6.8%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of married residents than 70% of compared French towns: 46%
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
By its share of single residents (24%), Lapalud is below 64% of compared French towns. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
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
26% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 12th youngest 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 Pringy (36.3), the oldest Saint-Palais-sur-Mer (68.1).
Lapalud is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lapalud | 41.5 | 19% | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| Bollène 14,024 · 3.3 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.6% | 14% |
| Pont-Saint-Esprit 10,958 · 4.3 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 2.6% | 11% |
| Pierrelatte 13,756 · 4.6 mi | 42.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux 8,981 · 4.8 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 6.6% | 8.8% |
| Mondragon 3,833 · 5 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 3.8% | 7.2% |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol 7,661 · 5.2 mi | 44.2 | 25% | 3.9% | 14% |
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 Lapalud
What is the population of Lapalud?
3,853 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (3,966).
How old are Lapalud’s residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lapalud?
69, with occasional dwellings: 3.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lapalud?
INSEE counts 250 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.6% of residents, and 140 foreign nationals (3.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lapalud?
€23,790 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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.