Ustou is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 57.4
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 9.8% of households are couples with children in Ustou. On the census count, 0.6% of households rent social housing (HLM). Lower than in 99% of compared French towns: 0.9% of homes stand empty. This Ariège town is home to 281 residents in 160 households, by the 2023 Census.
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 Ustou
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,200 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ustou, 87% of its 1,380 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 73% 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 Ustou’s residents are under 57.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ustou had 324 residents at the 2012 census and 281 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
53% of Ustou’s households are one person: higher than in 97% of compared French towns; 44% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
87% of homes are second homes, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
25% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Across Ustou, 9.5% of households have no car. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, 99% of compared French towns grew faster than Ustou: −13%
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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −7%, and from 2017 to 2023 −7%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ariège town +2%.
5.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below 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
■ Ustou 57.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 35% in Ustou and 22% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 78 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of one-person households than 97% of compared French towns: 53%
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 single-parent households trails 99% of compared French towns: 2.6%. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On average, 1.7 people share a household.
A median standard of living of €21,160 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.
The median standard of living in Ustou is €21,160 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 93% of compared French towns.
Ustou: 47% of households are headed by a retired person, above 94% 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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional trails 58% of compared French towns: 8.1%. To put it in context, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. About one in nine: that is how common households headed by a manual worker are in Ustou (11%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 81% of compared French towns: 3.1%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 2.8% in Ustou. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of single residents than 71% of compared French towns, at 28%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married, a higher share than in 53% of compared French towns. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Adults with no qualification make up 13% in Ustou, less than in 86% 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
Put another way, about one in three: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. Against that, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 281 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Every neighbor is younger than Ustou
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ustou | 57.4 | 35% | 87% | 3.1% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 13.9 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 17.5 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
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 Ustou
What is the population of Ustou?
281 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (324).
How old are Ustou’s residents?
The median age is 57.4, older than 97% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ustou?
1,200, with occasional dwellings: 87% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ustou?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ustou?
€21,160 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.