FrançaisGuest, Sign inJoin
France›Ariège›Occitanie

Mérens-les-ValsAriège

A town of 166 in Ariège, Occitanie.

Is Mérens-les-Vals a good place to live?

Mérens-les-Vals is too small to grade: French towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.

What makes Mérens-les-Vals stand out

The 2 things Mérens-les-Vals does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data
Restes de l'ancienne église de Merens-d'En-Haut
Restes de l'ancienne église de Merens-d'En-Haut · Classé · Photo: Jean-Jacques Lasmolles · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mérens-les-Vals’ story

Mérens-les-Vals in pictures

The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Mérens-les-Vals: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 0 inscrit (the second level).

The oldest protected part dates from the 11th century; the first monument here was protected in 1969.

20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.

  • 1969First protected: Restes de l'ancienne église de Merens-d'En-Haut
Explore the history →

The data

Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Mérens-les-Vals.

Who lives here

Mérens-les-Vals has fewer young adults than Ariège’s towns or compared French towns: 4.4% are 15 to 24

29% of residents have reached 65. Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Ariège’s towns (15%) and compared French towns (17%). Degrees are held by 36% of adults.

50median age
Mérens-les-ValsAriège medianFrance median

Ages · share of residents

Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education

No diploma14%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat23%
Higher education36%

Women and men · all residents

47% women, 53% men

About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.

Ages and diplomas in Mérens-les-Vals
Mérens-les-ValsAriège medianFrance median
Under 1514%15%17%
15–244.4%10%11%
25–4426%22%23%
45–6428%26%26%
65+29%27%22%
No diploma14%21%19%
CAP or BEP23%26%26%
Baccalauréat23%20%18%
Higher education36%25%30%

INSEE, census 2023 · Ariège median and France median: the median of compared communes

History

Old homes shape Mérens-les-Vals: 20% were built before 1919, more than in Ariège’s towns and across compared French towns

France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.

The oldest protected building goes back to the 11th century. Among the classé monuments in Mérens-les-Vals is Restes de l'ancienne église de Merens-d'En-Haut.

1historic monument

Monuments by protection · Mérimée

Classé1
Inscrit0
11th c.
oldest protected part
1969
first monument protected

Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period

Work & commute

Unemployment in Mérens-les-Vals, 7.6%, runs below Ariège’s towns and compared French towns

At the census, 9.0% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Ariège’s towns (15.5%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Mérens-les-Vals has 50 jobs for 100 working residents, 0.8 per worker. Median disposable income comes to €22,680 a year per consumption unit.

9%walk, cycle or take transit

How working residents got to work · census 2023

Driving91%
On foot9%
Public transport0%
Bicycle0%
Motorbike or scooter0%
50
jobs based in Mérens-les-Vals, 0.8 per working resident
7.6%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€22,680
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
0%
worked without traveling (at or from home)

Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte

Housing

Estimated advertised rents run lower in Mérens-les-Vals than in Ariège’s towns or across compared French towns: €8.94/m² a month

Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.

Renting a house costs an estimated €8.58/m² a month. The market in Mérens-les-Vals: 12 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.

€8.94/m²estimated apartment rent a month

Estimated advertised apartment rent per m² a month

Mérens-les-Vals€8.94/m²
Median of towns€12.41/m²
Ariège median€9.99/m²
€8.94/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.12 to €11.22/m² a month)
€8.58/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included

Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Mérens-les-Vals

11pages on Mérens-les-Vals

Landmarks

Mérens-les-Vals has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.

All monuments →
Photo credits

Restes de l'ancienne église de Merens-d'En-Haut: Photo: Jean-Jacques Lasmolles · CC BY-SA 4.0

Famous people from Mérens-les-Vals

Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Mérens-les-Vals yet.

How we find them →

Mérens-les-Vals’ neighbors

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →

All towns in Ariège →
Tarascon-sur-AriègeTarascon-sur-AriègeMérens-les-Vals
How the neighbors grade
TownPeopleMilesOverallCostSafetyHealth
Mérens-les-Vals166—————
Tarascon-sur-Ariège3,08518C−B+C+C

People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.

About Mérens-les-Vals

Commune in Ariège, Occitanie

Mérens-les-Vals is a commune of 166 people in the Communauté de communes de la Haute Ariège. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.

Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries

Population
166 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes de la Haute Ariège
Département
Ariège (09)
Région
Occitanie
Area
31 sq mi (80.3 km²)
INSEE code
09189

Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, 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.