Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Ercé is over 58.5
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Ercé comes in at 45%. Across Ercé, nearly one in ten households are couples with children. Few places have so few households in social housing: 0.4% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. 602 residents in 290 households: that is Ercé at 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 Ercé
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 350 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ercé, 52% of its 670 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 98% 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 Ercé’s residents are under 58.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
52% of homes in Ercé are second homes
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
4.2% of homes stand empty (typical compared French town: 6.7%). Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Across Ercé, 2.5% of homes are flats. Households without a car are more common here than in 54% of compared French towns.
Ercé’s population changed by +9% since 2012, more than in 65% 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 Ariège town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −3% and the next six +12%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 3.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ercé 58.5. The median compared French town: 44.
37% of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
15% of households are single parents, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
44% of households are one person living alone (typical compared French town: 35%). As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The average household has 1.9 people.
The median resident lives on €20,830 a year per consumption unit
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.
The median standard of living in Ercé is €20,830 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 94% of compared French towns.
Ercé ranks below 99% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 3.4%
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
4.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.9% of residents in Ercé 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.
Immigrants make up about one in 14 here (6.9%). That is higher than in 53% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%. Nothing unusual on foreign nationals: 4.3%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
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 married residents than 95% of compared French towns: 33%
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 single residents is 28% in Ercé and 25% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 84% of compared French towns: 13%
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
34% of Ercé’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 13% have no diploma (19%).
Ranked by age, 4th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Every neighbor is younger than Ercé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ercé | 58.5 | 37% | 52% | 6.9% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 11.8 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 15.9 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
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 Ercé
What is the population of Ercé?
602 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (554).
How old are Ercé’s residents?
The median age is 58.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ercé?
350, with occasional dwellings: 52% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ercé?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.9% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ercé?
€20,830 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.