Above 97% of compared French towns: 45% of homes are second homes
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 7.3% of residents are 15 to 24 in Perles-et-Castelet. 218 residents in 120 households: that is Perles-et-Castelet at the 2023 Census. The share of flats stands at 7.2%. This Ariège town has fewer couples with children than just over four fifths of compared French towns, at 18%.
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 Perles-et-Castelet
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Perles-et-Castelet, 45% of its 230 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Perles-et-Castelet’s residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A smaller share of empty homes than 95% of compared French towns: 3.1%
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. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly one in ten households have no car. Some 14% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 21% who have been there 30 years or more.
A +6% change since 2012: faster than 55% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +2% for the median Ariège town, the change came in two steps: +8% from 2012 to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
A median age of 51.4: Perles-et-Castelet is older than 87% 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
■ Perles-et-Castelet 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
24% of residents are 65 or over; in the typical compared French town the figure is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Perles-et-Castelet ranks above 81% of compared French towns on one-person households: 44%
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
Nearly one in ten households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). Households average 1.8 people. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A median of €24,990 a year per consumption unit
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.
The median standard of living in Perles-et-Castelet is €24,990 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
18% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 76% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%. In Perles-et-Castelet, 32% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 6.1% of Perles-et-Castelet’s residents
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 lower than in 54% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%. The census found that 4.6% of residents are foreign nationals in Perles-et-Castelet.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 22%, a lower share than 81% 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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 41% of residents 15 and over are married here. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Only 19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Perles-et-Castelet
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 is 16%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 218 to 2,582 people: this is the 11th 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).
Among its 3 nearest neighbors, 1 are older than Perles-et-Castelet
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perles-et-Castelet | 51.4 | 24% | 45% | 6.1% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 12.1 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 13.5 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Foix 9,934 · 18 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
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 Perles-et-Castelet
What is the population of Perles-et-Castelet?
218 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (206).
How old are Perles-et-Castelet’s residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Perles-et-Castelet?
110, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Perles-et-Castelet?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.1% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Perles-et-Castelet?
€24,990 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.