Son sits below 99% of compared French towns for flats (2%)
The median age in Son is 48.8, higher than in 78% of compared French towns. The town had 89 residents in 38 households at the 2023 Census. About one in 12: that is how common second homes are in Son (8.2%). By its share of one-person households (43%), Son is above nearly four fifths of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 Son
Fewer residents than in 2012
Son had 97 residents at the 2012 census and 89 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 7 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −8% since 2012, behind 95% 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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Ardennes town −9%. The change was +2% from 2012 to 2017 and −10% from 2017 to 2023.
Son sits above 95% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (15%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Son 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 26%, Son is ahead of 72% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 78 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 68% of compared French towns, at 29%
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 Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2.3 people on average.
A higher share of empty homes than 94% of compared French towns, at 14%
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
In the median compared French town, 11% of households have no car; here, one in 13. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Above 74% of compared French towns: 14% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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. For comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 29% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0% of Son’s 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.
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.
53% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 97% 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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of residents 15 and over are single here. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 80% of compared French towns: 26%
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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 89 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is younger than Son
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Son | 48.8 | 26% | 8.2% | 0% |
| Rethel 7,444 · 6.5 mi | 47 | 26% | 1.8% | 2.6% |
| Warmeriville 2,749 · 16.1 mi | 39 | 17% | 1% | 1.9% |
| Villeneuve-sur-Aisne 2,792 · 16.7 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 1.3% | 2.4% |
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 Son
What is the population of Son?
89 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (97).
How old are Son’s residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Son?
4, with occasional dwellings: 8.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Son?
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.