Second homes make up 16% in Mercus-Garrabet, more than in 92% of compared French towns
Here 8.2% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. Mercus-Garrabet is home to 1,238 residents in 580 households, by the 2023 Census. One in ten homes are flats, or about one in ten. Lower than in 70% of compared French towns: 7.4% of households have no car.
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 Mercus-Garrabet
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mercus-Garrabet, 16% of its 760 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Mercus-Garrabet ranks below 68% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 8.5%
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
Compared with 6.7% in the typical compared French town, 8% of homes stand empty here. Turnover: nearly one in ten households moved in less than two years ago, and 23% have lived in their home 30 years or more. The usual figure: 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
Mercus-Garrabet’s population changed by +8% since 2012, more than in 64% 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 first five years brought +5%; the six to 2023, +3%.
Half of Mercus-Garrabet is over 45.8, older than 62% 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
■ Mercus-Garrabet 45.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Locally, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Mercus-Garrabet ranks below 82% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 7.8%
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
The share of one-person households trails just over three fifths of compared French towns: 33%. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.1 people.
Half above, half below €23,570 a year in standard of living
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.
Living standards centre on €23,570 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 76% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 35% in Mercus-Garrabet, more than in 63% 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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Mercus-Garrabet comes in at 7.8%. Households headed by a manual worker make up about one in seven here (14%). The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 78% of compared French towns: 12% of residents 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.
Nearly one in ten residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. Set beside that, 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.
Mercus-Garrabet ranks below 92% of compared French towns on single residents: 20%
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
Married residents: 44% of the total. Across the comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Mercus-Garrabet ranks below 74% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 23%
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 make up about one in six here (18%). Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,238 to 2,582 people, the 19th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Mercus-Garrabet 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercus-Garrabet | 45.8 | 23% | 16% | 12% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 2.8 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 5.7 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 11.5 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 11.6 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 14.1 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 15.5 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
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 Mercus-Garrabet
What is the population of Mercus-Garrabet?
1,238 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (1,143).
How old are Mercus-Garrabet’s residents?
The median age is 45.8, older than 62% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mercus-Garrabet?
120, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mercus-Garrabet?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (8.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mercus-Garrabet?
€23,570 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 9, 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.