Saurat: 53% of homes are second homes, above 98% of compared French towns
With flats at 1.2%, Saurat is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. This Ariège town counted 700 residents and 360 households at the 2023 Census. The share of couples with children stands at 17%. 8.4% of households are headed by a manual worker, a lower share than in 86% of compared French towns.
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 Saurat
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 490 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saurat, 53% of its 930 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 97% 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 Saurat’s residents are under 51.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
8.5% of homes stand empty, more than in 69% 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. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. The census found that 11% of households have no car in Saurat.
+5% since 2012, a pace below 50% 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
Only 5.2% of residents are 15 to 24 in Saurat
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saurat 51.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Saurat’s residents are over 51.2, older than in 87% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 28% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Saurat ranks above 83% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 13%
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 share of one-person households tops nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 39%. In the typical compared French town, single-parent households come to 10%. A household here holds 2 people on average.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €21,190 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.
Half of Saurat’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,190 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 93% of compared French towns.
37% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 75% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Saurat has 11%. Typically, nearly a third 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).
More foreign nationals than 66% of compared French towns: 6.3%
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.
The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 63% of compared French towns. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of married residents than 74% of compared French towns: 39%
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
By its share of single residents (24%), Saurat is below 65% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of adults with no qualification than 81% of compared French towns, at 14%
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
34% of Saurat’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 14% have no diploma (19%).
Ranked by age, 11th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Around Saurat, 2 of 6 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saurat | 51.2 | 28% | 53% | 8.5% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 4.4 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 7.2 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 12.9 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 15.2 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 16.7 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 16.9 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
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 Saurat
What is the population of Saurat?
700 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (668).
How old are Saurat’s residents?
The median age is 51.2, older than 87% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saurat?
490, with occasional dwellings: 53% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saurat?
INSEE counts 59 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.5% of residents, and 44 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saurat?
€21,190 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 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.