Half of Val-de-Sos is over 60.2, older than 98% of compared French towns
Households headed by a retired person: 55% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. Val-de-Sos had 599 residents in 300 households at the 2023 census. The share of one-person households stands at 45%. 1.2% of homes stand empty, a lower share than in 99% 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 Val-de-Sos
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 800 second homes and occasional dwellings in Val-de-Sos, 72% of its 1,110 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 91% 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 Val-de-Sos’ residents are under 60.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Val-de-Sos had 662 residents at the 2012 census and 599 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 72% in Val-de-Sos, more than in 99% 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
Of all households, 10% moved in during the last two years and 22% have stayed three decades or more. The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%. On households in social housing, Val-de-Sos sits lower than 85% of compared French towns: 5.3%. Add to that, the figure for flats is 9.5% in Val-de-Sos and 30% in the typical compared French town.
A −10% change since 2012: slower than 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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Ariège town +2%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 39% in Val-de-Sos, more than in 97% 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
■ Val-de-Sos 60.2. The median compared French town: 44.
5.4% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
1.6% of households are single parents, fewer than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children; in Val-de-Sos, 18%. A household here holds 1.9 people on average. On average, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,030 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 Val-de-Sos is €22,030 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 88% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 1.5%
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 manual worker trails 92% of compared French towns: 6.5%. Typically, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.6% of residents are foreign nationals, below 71% 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 Val-de-Sos, 4.7% of residents are immigrants, beside 6.5% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 67% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 21% of residents 15 and over are single in Val-de-Sos
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
Married people make up 45% and PACS partners 3.8%, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 11% are widowed. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
In Val-de-Sos, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 60% 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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, or about one in three. Across the comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 599 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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).
Val-de-Sos 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val-de-Sos | 60.2 | 39% | 72% | 4.7% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 7.5 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Foix 9,934 · 14.4 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 Val-de-Sos
What is the population of Val-de-Sos?
599 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (662).
How old are Val-de-Sos’ residents?
The median age is 60.2, older than 98% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Val-de-Sos?
800, with occasional dwellings: 72% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Val-de-Sos?
INSEE counts 28 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.7% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Val-de-Sos?
€22,030 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.