Montpellier consolidates its 7th national place, according to INSEE. The population is increasing sharply in Hérault, a very attractive department. In the Montpellier metropolis, several municipalities are also recording very strong growth, such as Saint-Jean-de-Védas, Castelnau-le-Lez, Restinclières and Juvignac.
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Montpellier is on the rise! SAccording to the latest INSEE census, published on December 19, the 7e commune of France had 307,101 inhabitants in 2022.
With Toulouse, Toulon and Nantes, it is one of the French cities with the highest population growth rate.
Young people praised it last year: ranked number one of the best student cities thanks to its wide range of training, health infrastructure and free transport.
As for the Montpellier metropolis, its 31 municipalities are approaching 500,000 inhabitants (480,915 according to the last census). At the top of the ranking: Saint-Jean-de-Védas which has gained nearly 4,000 additional inhabitants in less than 10 years, Juvignac and Castelnau-le-Lez are also progressing at a sustained pace.
The population is increasing sharply in Hérault, more particularly in the metropolis of Montpellier. According to INSEE, if this demographic trend continues, the population would continue to increase by 2035, but then “the migratory surplus would weaken and deaths would exceed births”.
INSEE forecasts different dynamics depending on the territories: it is the Montpellier sector which should absorb half of the increase in the number of households, but the territories of Pic Saint-Loup and Cœur d'Hérault would experience higher growth.
Evolution of the population projected over the period 2020-2050: the populations of Pic Saint-Loup and Cœur d'Hérault would increase by more than 1% per year between 2020 and 2050, mainly thanks to population arrivals. (Insee, Omphale 2022).
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© INSEE
With more than 1,200,000 people residing in January 2021, Hérault was the department of metropolitan France where the population increased the fastest between 2015 and 2021, tied with Haute-Garonne (+1.2% per year) .
There are more births than deaths. Its migratory surplus is strong (+1.0% per year) due to arrivals far exceeding departures.
The number of households, which corresponds to the number of dwellings occupied as main residences, is growing even faster than the population: +1.8% per year between 2015 and 2021.
Until now, it is mainly young people and executives who are attracted to the former regional capital, renowned for its gentle way of life, its dynamism and its climate.
Thanks to its metropolis, Hérault attracts many young people (students or workers): 42% of entrants to the department are between 18 and 29 years old. This proportion rises to 58% in Montpellier. People aged 65 or over represent 10% of arrivals in Hérault.
Nevertheless, put the INSEE report into perspective “the shortage of available land could contribute to slowing down the arrival of new inhabitants in areas that are already densely populated. Climate change could also make cities in the south of France less attractive as they face more frequent episodes of extreme heat , more intense climatic disorders and tensions on water resources”.
The hypothesis of seeing more and more people settling in Hérault could therefore be revised based on these developments.
