13% of households are couples with children, below 95% of compared French towns
Just over one in ten homes stand empty (typical compared French town: 6.7%). Foix’s 5,280 households held 9,934 residents at the 2023 Census. Across Foix, 7.6% of homes are second homes. Households without a car are more common here than in 83% 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 Foix
Many people living alone
51% of Foix’s households are one person: higher than in 95% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,500 immigrants in Foix (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 15% of residents, against 9.1% for the median compared commune in Ariège. 12% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Foix has changed by +2%, slower than 62% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ariège town +2%.
Above 76% of compared French towns: 27% 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
■ Foix 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Foix’s residents are over 46.8, older than in just over two thirds of compared French towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in eight here (12%). The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
51% of households are one person living alone, 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
In the typical compared French town, one in ten households are single parents; in Foix, 11%. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.8 people.
Foix: 48% of homes are flats, above 73% 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
Households in social housing: 10%, below 58% of compared French towns. On average, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €23,470 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,470 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 77% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 24.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
Only 9.8% of households are headed by a manual worker in Foix
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
36% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). Typically, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional: nearly a tenth of the total.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foix: 15% of residents are immigrants, above 86% of compared French towns
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 figure for foreign nationals is 12% in Foix and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
Married residents make up 33% in Foix, less than in 94% 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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Foix comes in at 35%. On average, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Above 69% of compared French towns: 36% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
Across Foix, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Ranked by age, 10th 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 Montlhéry (34.7), the oldest Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque (54.6).
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Foix
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foix | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 6 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 8.1 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 8.5 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 10.1 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 10.7 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 12.4 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
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 Foix
What is the population of Foix?
9,934 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (9,756).
How old are Foix’s residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Foix?
490, with occasional dwellings: 7.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Foix?
INSEE counts 1,510 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 1,190 foreign nationals (12%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Foix?
€23,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.