40% of homes in Argein are second homes
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 195 residents in 100 households: that is Argein at the 2023 Census. Locally, 5.7% of residents are 15 to 24. By its share of flats (3.6%), Argein is below 98% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ariège 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 Argein
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 79 second homes and occasional dwellings in Argein, 40% of its 200 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 93% 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 Argein’s residents are under 53.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Argein’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 42% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Households without a car make up 5.3% in Argein, less than in 86% 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
In the last two years, 6.3% of households moved in; at the other end, 17% have stayed 30 years or more. For comparison, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. 6.6% of homes stand empty, a lower share than in 51% of compared French towns.
A +5% change since 2012: Argein grew faster than 50% 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
Here the change came as +4% to 2017, then +1% to 2023.
A median age of 53.2: Argein is older than 91% 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
■ Argein 53.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Here just over a third of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 94% of compared French towns: 50%
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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. The census found that 19% of households are couples with children in Argein. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €21,610 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 residents live in households above €21,610 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 91% of compared French towns.
In Argein, 42% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 89% of compared French towns
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 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Argein has 8.6%. In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person. Here, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Argein: 6.5% 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.
The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in half of compared French towns. About one in 23: that is how common foreign nationals are in Argein (4.4%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 66% of compared French towns: 23%
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
For Argein, the census puts married residents at 42%. The usual figure: a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 78% of compared French towns: 22%
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 19% in the typical compared French town, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification here. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 195 to 2,582 people, the 7th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Argein and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argein | 53.2 | 34% | 40% | 6.5% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 8.5 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
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 Argein
What is the population of Argein?
195 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (186).
How old are Argein’s residents?
The median age is 53.2, older than 91% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Argein?
79, with occasional dwellings: 40% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Argein?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.5% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (4.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Argein?
€21,610 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 October 30, 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.