Second homes: 15%, a higher share than 91% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 92 people lived in Vals, in 42 households. Locally, 44% of households are headed by a retired person. In Vals, 4.3% of households have no car, beside 11% in the typical compared French town.
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 Vals
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 8 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vals, 15% of its 52 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 10% of homes are flats in Vals
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
Empty homes make up 4.4%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Vals’s population moved −1% on 2012, less than in 74% 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
Here the change came as +5% to 2017, then −6% to 2023.
Vals sits below 85% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8.7%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vals 42.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Vals has 24%. The median age here is 42.8, lower than in three fifths of compared French towns.
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%.
Vals sits below 64% of compared French towns for couples with children (22%)
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
33% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 11% of households are single parents in Vals. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of households headed by a manager or professional than 60% of compared French towns, at 11%
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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 74% of compared French towns: 3.9%
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.
About one in 26: that is how common foreign nationals are in Vals (3.9%). In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
More married residents than 71% of compared French towns: 46%
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, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single; in Vals, 27%. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
In Vals, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 75% 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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Vals, 28%. The usual figure: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 10th youngest 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.
Vals sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vals | 42.8 | 24% | 15% | 3.9% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 5.3 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 5.8 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 6.8 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 7.3 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 7.4 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Mazères 3,852 · 11.1 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 Vals
What is the population of Vals?
92 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (93).
How old are Vals’ residents?
The median age is 42.8, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vals?
8, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vals?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (3.9%). 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 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.