A lower share of households without a car than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.6%
In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; Madière has 19%. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 88% of compared French towns: 8.5%. This Ariège town is home to 283 residents in 120 households, by the 2023 Census. Households headed by a retired person make up about one in four here (27%).
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 Madière
Growing fast
Madière had 206 residents at the 2012 census and 283 in 2023, up 37%: faster growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+37% since 2012, a pace 98% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +2% in Ariège.
Madière ranks below 73% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 19%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Madière 44.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 44.4, Madière is older than 52% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Madière: 12% of households are single parents, above 71% 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
Nearly a quarter of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for single-parent households in the typical compared French town: 10%. Households here average 2.4 people each.
Empty homes: 9.8%, a higher share than 78% 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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. The census found that 3.7% of homes are second homes in Madière.
Median living standard: €23,600 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.
Half of Madière’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €23,600 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 76% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 12%, a higher share than 62% 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
In Madière, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.9% of residents are immigrants, below 82% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Madière has 2.6%. Across the comparison, 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.
Single residents: 20%, a lower share than 93% 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 share of married residents stands at 43%. Against that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Madière ranks below 67% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 25%
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
Here, a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 16th youngest of 41 French towns of 283 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Madière is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madière | 44.4 | 19% | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 5 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 5.6 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 6.9 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 7.1 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saverdun 4,808 · 9.1 mi | 44 | 21% | 2.4% | 7.3% |
| Foix 9,934 · 11.1 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 Madière
What is the population of Madière?
283 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 37% more than in 2012 (206).
How old are Madière’s residents?
The median age is 44.4, older than 52% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Madière?
5, with occasional dwellings: 3.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Madière?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Madière?
€23,600 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.