Older than 87% of compared French towns: half of Tarascon-sur-Ariège is over 51.4
In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone; in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, 45%. On second homes, Tarascon-sur-Ariège sits higher than 85% of compared French towns: 8%. At the 2023 Census Tarascon-sur-Ariège was home to 3,085 people in 1,520 households. Here, 3.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
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 Tarascon-sur-Ariège
Fewer residents than in 2012
Tarascon-sur-Ariège had 3,386 residents at the 2012 census and 3,085 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 600 immigrants in Tarascon-sur-Ariège (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 18% of residents, against 9.1% for the median compared commune in Ariège. 12% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
An older town
Half of Tarascon-sur-Ariège’s residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −9% since 2012 leaves Tarascon-sur-Ariège behind 96% 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
Over those years, the median Ariège town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −10%, then +1% to 2023.
More residents aged 65 and over than 90% of compared French towns: 32%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Tarascon-sur-Ariège 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Put another way, about one in ten: one in ten residents are 15 to 24. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
16% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 86% 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 people. Against that, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households come to 12% in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, about one in ten.
Households without a car make up 19% in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, more than in 81% 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
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 14% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Few places have as many flats: 42% here, more than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 13: 7.9% of homes stand empty.
A median standard of living of €21,590 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 €21,590 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 91% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 27.0%.
Households headed by a retired person make up 40% in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, more than in 84% 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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, 12%. 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).
Tarascon-sur-Ariège: 18% of residents are immigrants, above 91% of compared French towns
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Tarascon-sur-Ariège has 12%. 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.
Tarascon-sur-Ariège ranks below 86% of compared French towns on married residents: 36%
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 (30%), Tarascon-sur-Ariège is above 77% of compared French towns. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Tarascon-sur-Ariège: 28% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 87% 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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
41 French towns of 3,057 to 3,114 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.
Pont-à-Vendin is the youngest (35.9); Soulac-sur-Mer the oldest (63.7).
Tarascon-sur-Ariège and its 4 nearest towns: 1 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 8.1 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 13.8 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 14 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 16.6 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 Tarascon-sur-Ariège
What is the population of Tarascon-sur-Ariège?
3,085 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (3,386).
How old are Tarascon-sur-Ariège’s residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Tarascon-sur-Ariège?
150, with occasional dwellings: 8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Tarascon-sur-Ariège?
INSEE counts 560 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 18% of residents, and 370 foreign nationals (12%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Tarascon-sur-Ariège?
€21,590 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 27.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.