35% of homes stand empty, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Castéras has 30%. This Ariège town counted 23 residents and 11 households at the 2023 Census. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 100%. Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 18%, more than in 79% 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 Castéras
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 4 second homes and occasional dwellings in Castéras, 17% of its 23 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 75% 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
Castéras had 31 residents at the 2012 census and 23 in 2023, down 26%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 8 homes empty (35%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Castéras’ households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 43% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Castéras ranks above 92% of compared French towns on second homes: 17%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. 8.7% of homes are flats. Without a car: one household in six, against 11% in the median compared French town.
A change of −26% since 2012 leaves Castéras behind 99% 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 the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ariège town +2%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −23%; 2017 to 2023, −4%.
A median age of 40.5: Castéras is younger than 76% 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
■ Castéras 40.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.7% here and 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Castéras, 50% of households are one person living alone, more than in 94% 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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Households here average 2.1 people each.
The largest group of households: retired (100%)
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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0% of residents in Castéras 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.
Single residents: 37%, a higher share than 95% 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
The share of married residents stands at 42%. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
12% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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
Adults with no qualification: 24% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 23 to 2,582 people, the 4th youngest
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).
5 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Castéras
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castéras | 40.5 | 30% | 17% | 0% |
| Montesquieu-Volvestre 3,050 · 10.3 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 6.5% | 5.1% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 10.8 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Saverdun 4,808 · 11.4 mi | 44 | 21% | 2.4% | 7.3% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 11.7 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 12.8 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 12.9 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
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 Castéras
What is the population of Castéras?
23 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% fewer than in 2012 (31).
How old are Castéras’ residents?
The median age is 40.5, younger than 76% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Castéras?
4, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Castéras?
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 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.