Households headed by a manager or professional make up 1.9% in Le Fossat, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Where just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Le Fossat has 2.3%. Still, 5.7% of homes are second homes, more than in 79% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 1,071 residents in 510 households. Residents aged 65 and over: 27% of the total.
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.
Le Fossat changed by −1% from 2012 to 2023, behind 72% 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 −4%, and from 2017 to 2023 +3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ariège town +2%.
A median age of 49.9: Le Fossat is older than 83% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Fossat 49.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 82% of compared French towns: 9%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 72% 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
Couples with children: 21% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2 people. Single-parent households are more common here than in 60% of compared French towns.
In Le Fossat, 11% of homes stand empty, more than in 82% 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
Here 15% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 52% of compared French towns: 11% of households have no car.
Median standard of living: €22,570 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 €22,570 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
Le Fossat sits above 95% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (24%)
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
Lower than in 53% of compared French towns: 32% of households are headed by a retired person. In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
7.6% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 72% 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.
On the census count, 7.5% of residents are immigrants. That is higher than in 57% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 83% of compared French towns: 37% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Single residents: 24%, below 63% of compared French towns. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 71% of compared French towns
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
Census figures put adults with no qualification at 20% in Le Fossat. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Ranked by age, 14th 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).
Le Fossat and its 6 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Fossat | 49.9 | 27% | 5.7% | 7.5% |
| Saverdun 4,808 · 9.4 mi | 44 | 21% | 2.4% | 7.3% |
| Montesquieu-Volvestre 3,050 · 9.5 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 6.5% | 5.1% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 11.1 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Cintegabelle 3,006 · 11.2 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 3.2% | 4.5% |
| Rieux-Volvestre 2,639 · 12.2 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 12.5 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
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 Le Fossat
What is the population of Le Fossat?
1,071 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,077).
How old are Le Fossat’s residents?
The median age is 49.9, older than 83% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Fossat?
35, with occasional dwellings: 5.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Fossat?
INSEE counts 80 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.5% of residents, and 81 foreign nationals (7.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Fossat?
€22,570 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 November 4, 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.