Second homes: 61%, a higher share than 98% of compared French towns
Single-parent households: 4.4% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 0.9% of households rent social housing (HLM). At 1.6%, the share of empty homes is lower than in 99% of compared French towns. 243 residents in 120 households: that is Mars at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Mars
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 190 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mars, 61% of its 310 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 90% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Mars had 275 residents at the 2012 census and 243 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Mars’ residents are under 51.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Flats make up 6.9% in Mars, less than in 92% 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
One household in eight has no car (median compared French town: 11%). As a reference point, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Across Mars, 12% of households have no car.
Mars changed by −12% from 2012 to 2023, behind 98% 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
Over those years, the median Ardèche town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
A median age of 51.1: Mars is older than 87% 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
■ Mars 51.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, 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 62% 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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for couples with children is 27% in Mars and 25% in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.1 people. The usual figure: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €22,260 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.
Half of Mars’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,260 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 87% of compared French towns.
Below 98% of compared French towns: 3.8% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Where nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Mars has 41%. On households headed by a manager or professional, Mars sits lower than 90% of compared French towns: 4.4%. 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 87% of compared French towns, at 2.5%
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.
The median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 87% of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%. Foreign nationals: 2.1% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
29% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 76% 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
45% of residents 15 and over are married, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 55% 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, a higher share than in 52% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (243 to 2,582 people), the 11th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Mars is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars | 51.1 | 27% | 61% | 2.5% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 3.2 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Tence 3,111 · 7.2 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 19% | 1.9% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 8.7 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Yssingeaux 7,415 · 13.3 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 9.2% | 3.2% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 13.8 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
| Sainte-Sigolène 6,097 · 16.6 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 4% | 7% |
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 Mars
What is the population of Mars?
243 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (275).
How old are Mars’ residents?
The median age is 51.1, older than 87% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mars?
190, with occasional dwellings: 61% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mars?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mars?
€22,260 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.