2.7% of homes are flats, below 99% of compared French towns
Just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 3.8% in Montels. Census day 2023: 164 residents and 76 households here. Households headed by a manual worker account for 6.2%. On residents aged 15 to 24, Montels sits lower than 95% of compared French towns: 7.6%.
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 Montels
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 17 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montels, 17% of its 100 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
17% of homes are second homes, more than in 92% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Census figures put empty homes at 9.7% in Montels.
Montels changed by +2% from 2012 to 2023, behind 62% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Ariège town +2%.
Montels is older than 76% of compared French towns: a median age of 48.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montels 48.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
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%.
In Montels, 19% of households are single parents, more than in 99% 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
The typical household size is 2.2 people. 31% of households are one person living alone. At 25%, the share of couples with children is lower than in 51% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €24,620 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.
At €24,620 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 76% of compared French towns, at 37%
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
12% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Across the comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 83% of compared French towns: 11% 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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Montels. For foreign nationals, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. That is higher than in 75% 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.
37% of residents 15 and over are married, below 84% 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
29% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 10% of adults out of school have no qualification in Montels
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 43% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Montels. Measured more widely, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 164 to 2,582
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: 2 of the 6 towns around Montels 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montels | 48.3 | 23% | 17% | 11% |
| Foix 9,934 · 7.6 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 8.7 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 9.6 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 10.7 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 11.6 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 12.9 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
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 Montels
What is the population of Montels?
164 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (161).
How old are Montels’ residents?
The median age is 48.3, older than 76% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montels?
17, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montels?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montels?
€24,620 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.