Half of Gestiès is over 65, older than 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Gestiès has 4.8%. At the 2023 Census, 38 people lived here, in 20 households. 124% more people than in 2012.
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 Gestiès
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 76 second homes and occasional dwellings in Gestiès, 79% of its 96 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 97% 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 Gestiès’ residents are under 65 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 50% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Gestiès had 17 residents at the 2012 census and 38 in 2023, up 124%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Gestiès’ households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 20% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
79% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% 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
Flats: 5% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Growth of +124% since 2012 puts Gestiès ahead of 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 those years, the median Ariège town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +65%, then +36% to 2023.
More residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns: 50%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Gestiès 65. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
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. On average, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 1.9 people in the average household.
Gestiès ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 50%
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 manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 32% 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).
Immigrants make up 0% of Gestiès’ residents
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 median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower 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.
Gestiès ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single residents: 8.6%
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
60% are married and 5.7% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 2.9% are widowed. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Gestiès sits above 55% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (31%)
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 38 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 Gestiès (65).
No nearby town is as old as Gestiès
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gestiès | 65 | 50% | 79% | 0% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 5.8 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 13.7 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
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 Gestiès
What is the population of Gestiès?
38 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 124% more than in 2012 (17).
How old are Gestiès’ residents?
The median age is 65, older than 99% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 50% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gestiès?
76, with occasional dwellings: 79% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gestiès?
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.