Half of Montferrier is over 59.1, older than 98% of compared French towns
16% of households are couples with children (typical compared French town: 25%). Lower than in 99% of compared French towns: 1.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Montferrier had 541 residents in 290 households at the 2023 census. In Montferrier, 2.8% of households rent social housing (HLM).
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 Montferrier
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 590 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montferrier, 61% of its 960 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 46% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Montferrier’s residents are under 59.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montferrier had 628 residents at the 2012 census and 541 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
61% of homes in Montferrier are second homes
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
Nearly one in ten households arrived within the last two years, while 33% have stayed 30 years or more. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 8.8%, more than in 71% of compared French towns. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. By its share of flats (37%), Montferrier is above 60% of compared French towns.
Montferrier changed by −14% from 2012 to 2023, behind 99% 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%. The change was −21% from 2012 to 2017 and +9% from 2017 to 2023.
Only 5.1% of residents are 15 to 24 in Montferrier
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montferrier 59.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 38%, above 97% of compared French towns. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Montferrier ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 3.3%
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
In Montferrier, 42% of households are one person living alone, beside 35% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.9 people.
Half above, half below €21,700 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.
Half of Montferrier’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,700 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
Above 98% of compared French towns: 52% of households are headed by a retired person
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker. By way of 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).
Only 2.6% of residents are foreign nationals in Montferrier
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.
Here, 6.8% of residents are immigrants. That is higher than in 52% 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.
In Montferrier, 19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 95% 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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Montferrier has 45%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Montferrier ranks below 92% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 18%
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 24%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 4th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Montferrier
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montferrier | 59.1 | 38% | 61% | 6.8% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 4 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 10 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 10.4 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 13.4 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 14.3 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 15.7 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
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 Montferrier
What is the population of Montferrier?
541 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (628).
How old are Montferrier’s residents?
The median age is 59.1, older than 98% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montferrier?
590, with occasional dwellings: 61% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montferrier?
INSEE counts 37 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.8% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montferrier?
€21,700 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.