Varilhes ranks below 99% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 0.9%
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of households are couples with children here. About one in 16: that is how common households headed by a manager or professional are in Varilhes (6.4%). Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 26% here, more than in 71% of compared French towns. This Ariège town had 3,487 residents in 1,710 households at 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.
A growing town: +8% since 2012, faster than 62% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ariège town +2%.
Varilhes is older than 67% of compared French towns: a median age of 46.7
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Varilhes 46.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, against 11% 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.
13% of households are single parents, more than in 87% 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 Varilhes, 39% of households are one person living alone, beside 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of flats than 73% of compared French towns: 17%
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
In the last two years, just over one in ten households moved in; at the other end, 16% have stayed 30 years or more. Higher than in 69% of compared French towns: 3.7% of homes are second homes. Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, Varilhes has 8.4%.
A typical living standard of €24,880 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 Varilhes is €24,880 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 62% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 13.0% of residents.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 65% of compared French towns, at 16%
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 Varilhes, 33% of households are headed by a retired person. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 72% of compared French towns, at 4.1%
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.
The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 72% of compared French towns. The census found that 2.1% of residents are foreign nationals in Varilhes. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
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 63% of compared French towns: 41%
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
Here nearly a quarter of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 73% of compared French towns: 15%
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
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 53% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
21st highest median age among 41 French towns of 3,457 to 3,518
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Sainte-Geneviève is the youngest (36.6); Bréhal the oldest (60.1).
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Varilhes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varilhes | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 2.6 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 4.1 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 4.9 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Foix 9,934 · 6 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 12.6 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| Saverdun 4,808 · 13.1 mi | 44 | 21% | 2.4% | 7.3% |
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 Varilhes
What is the population of Varilhes?
3,487 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (3,239).
How old are Varilhes’ residents?
The median age is 46.7, older than 67% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Varilhes?
73, with occasional dwellings: 3.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Varilhes?
INSEE counts 140 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.1% of residents, and 74 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Varilhes?
€24,880 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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.