4.2% of residents are 15 to 24, below 99% of compared French towns
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Celles has 4.1%. On the census count, 29% of households are headed by a manual worker. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 88% of compared French towns. This Ariège town is home to 143 residents in 69 households, by the 2023 Census.
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 Celles
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 19 second homes and occasional dwellings in Celles, 20% of its 98 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 95% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Celles had 119 residents at the 2012 census and 143 in 2023, up 20%: faster growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 93% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, one in ten homes stand empty in Celles. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 5.8% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Growth of +20% since 2012 puts Celles ahead of 90% 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
In two steps, +24% to 2017 and −3% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +2% in Ariège.
Above 80% of compared French towns: 28% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Celles 47.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 47.5, Celles is older than 72% of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 81 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of one-person households than 79% of compared French towns: 43%
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
On average, 2.1 people share a household. Against that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 29% of households are couples with children, a higher share than in 68% of compared French towns.
Median living standard: €20,700 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €20,700 a year: lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 21% in Celles, less than in 93% 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
In Celles, 7.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of foreign nationals than 88% of compared French towns: 1.4%
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 71% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. For Celles, the census puts immigrants at 4.2%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
30% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 80% 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
Married residents: 45%, above 68% of compared French towns. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
More adults with no qualification than 78% of compared French towns: 25%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Celles. For comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 143 to 2,582 people, the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Older than Celles: 3 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celles | 47.5 | 28% | 20% | 4.2% |
| Foix 9,934 · 5.1 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 6.6 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 8.2 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 9.4 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 12 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 13 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 Celles
What is the population of Celles?
143 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 20% more than in 2012 (119).
How old are Celles’ residents?
The median age is 47.5, older than 72% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Celles?
19, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Celles?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.2% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Celles?
€20,700 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.