Below 99% of compared French towns: 1.7% of households have no car
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 6.9% of residents are 15 to 24 here. The share of flats stands at 1.2%. Households headed by a manager or professional are more common here than in 94% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 114 residents in 57 households.
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 Mérigon
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 9 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mérigon, 11% of its 79 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 13 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Mérigon’s residents are under 51.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of empty homes than 97% of compared French towns: 16%
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
11% of homes are second homes (typical compared French town: 2.1%). Households that moved in under two years ago: 8.6%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 33%. Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A change of −1% since 2012 leaves Mérigon behind 74% 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 the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Ariège town +2%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was ±0%; from 2017 to 2023, −1%.
Half of Mérigon is over 51.7, older than 88% 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
■ Mérigon 51.7. The median compared French town: 44.
28% of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%).
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of single-parent households than 98% of compared French towns: 17%
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
A third of households are one person living alone; in the typical compared French town the figure is 35%. Households average 2 people. Lower than in 86% of compared French towns: 17% of households are couples with children. In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 55% of compared French towns, at 33%
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. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 64% of compared French towns: 6% of residents are foreign nationals
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 59% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%. 7.8% of residents are immigrants. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
35% of residents 15 and over are married, below 90% 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
27% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 69% 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
The share of adults with no qualification stands at 20%. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 114 to 2,582 people, the 9th 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).
Mérigon sits below 1 of its 5 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mérigon | 51.7 | 28% | 11% | 7.8% |
| Montesquieu-Volvestre 3,050 · 7.9 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 6.5% | 5.1% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 8.1 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
| Cazères 4,854 · 10 mi | 44.6 | 24% | 2.5% | 7.8% |
| Rieux-Volvestre 2,639 · 11.4 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Carbonne 5,563 · 14.6 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 1.2% | 5.9% |
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 Mérigon
What is the population of Mérigon?
114 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (115).
How old are Mérigon’s residents?
The median age is 51.7, older than 88% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mérigon?
9, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mérigon?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.8% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (6%). 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.