Sainte-Foi is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 66.5
Here 5.6% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. More empty homes than in 54% of compared French towns: 7.1%. There were 14 households in Sainte-Foi at the 2023 Census, home to 29 residents. 21% more people than in 2012.
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 Sainte-Foi
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 3 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sainte-Foi, 14% of its 18 homes: higher than in 91% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Sainte-Foi’s residents are under 66.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 52% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 10% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Sainte-Foi had 24 residents at the 2012 census and 29 in 2023, up 21%: faster growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 91% of compared French towns: 14%
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 without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A +21% change since 2012: Sainte-Foi grew faster than 91% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +8%, then +12% to 2023. Over those years, the median Ariège town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 52% in Sainte-Foi, more than in 99% 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
■ Sainte-Foi 66.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over 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.
Sainte-Foi: 33% of households are couples with children, above 88% 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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Average household size: 2.1 people. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, a third of households are one person living alone in Sainte-Foi.
Households headed by a retired person: 100%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
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
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Sainte-Foi sits below 78% of compared French towns for immigrants (3.4%)
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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
In Sainte-Foi, 54% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 98% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Sainte-Foi has 19%. On average, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 4% in Sainte-Foi, less than in 99% 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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, nearly a third of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Sainte-Foi. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 29 to 2,582 people
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 Sainte-Foi (66.5).
Sainte-Foi is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Foi | 66.5 | 52% | 14% | 3.4% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 3.4 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| Bram 3,233 · 12.7 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
| Castelnaudary 12,151 · 13.1 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 2.5% | 13% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 13.3 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 14.1 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Mazères 3,852 · 14.4 mi | 44.9 | 24% | 5.3% | 4.5% |
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 Sainte-Foi
What is the population of Sainte-Foi?
29 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 21% more than in 2012 (24).
How old are Sainte-Foi’s residents?
The median age is 66.5, older than 99% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 52% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sainte-Foi?
3, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sainte-Foi?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). 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 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.