Cescau: 40% of homes are second homes, above 96% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Cescau had 163 residents in 79 households at the 2023 Census. The census found that 2.5% of households have no car in the town. 6.2% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%).
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 Cescau
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 56 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cescau, 40% of its 140 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A smaller share of flats than 97% of compared French towns: 4.2%
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
Long tenure is the mark of 13% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.9% (under two years). Lower than in 90% of compared French towns: 3.8% of homes stand empty.
Cescau grew +16% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 85% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +1%, and from 2017 to 2023 +16%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ariège town +2%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 5.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cescau 42.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Cescau’s residents are under 42.5, younger than in 62% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 21%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
37% of households are one person living alone, more than in 60% 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
Average household size: 2.1 people. On average, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in just over half of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €24,280 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 €24,280 a year: lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 25% in Cescau, less than in 83% 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
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 79% of compared French towns: 19%. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%. For Cescau, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 6.2%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 65% of compared French towns: 4.9%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 3% in Cescau. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Cescau, 17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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 figure for married residents is 30% in Cescau and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 25% of residents 15 and over are single.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 95% of compared French towns: 10%
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
42% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
The 10th youngest of 41 French towns of 163 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Cescau 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cescau | 42.5 | 21% | 40% | 4.9% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 6.3 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 Cescau
What is the population of Cescau?
163 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% more than in 2012 (140).
How old are Cescau’s residents?
The median age is 42.5, younger than 62% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cescau?
56, with occasional dwellings: 40% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cescau?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.9% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cescau?
€24,280 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.