A lower share of flats than 98% of compared French towns, at 3.4%
10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 19% in Barbaira. The 2023 Census counted 805 residents in 360 households. Second homes: 5.4% of the total. Residents aged 65 and over are rarer here than in just over two thirds of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Aude 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 Barbaira
Empty homes
The census found 59 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A growing town: +8% since 2012, faster than 64% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +1%, and from 2017 to 2023 +7%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Aude town +4%.
Barbaira is younger than 66% of compared French towns: a median age of 41.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Barbaira 41.9. The median compared French town: 44.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 26%, a higher share than 55% 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 Aude median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.3 people. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 34% of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 54% of compared French towns.
13% of homes stand empty, a share 92% 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
By its share of households without a car (8.5%), Barbaira is below 63% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. On households in social housing, Barbaira sits higher than 51% of compared French towns: 13%.
€21,830 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €21,830 a year: lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 11%, a lower share than 73% 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
By its share of households headed by a retired person (31%), Barbaira is below nearly three fifths of compared French towns. In Barbaira, 6.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Barbaira, 3% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 65% 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.
The median compared commune in Aude has 6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 59% of compared French towns. For comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The census found that 5.4% of residents are immigrants in Barbaira.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 36% of residents 15 and over are married in Barbaira
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 27% of residents 15 and over are single in Barbaira. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Only 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Barbaira
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
Adults with no qualification: 16% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 8th youngest of 41 French towns of 805 to 2,582 people
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).
Every neighbor is older than Barbaira
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbaira | 41.9 | 19% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| Trèbes 5,361 · 3.6 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 3.4% | 12% |
| Palaja 2,722 · 6.1 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 2.5% | 5.8% |
| Conques-sur-Orbiel 2,523 · 8.1 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 3.9% | 6.2% |
| Carcassonne 46,080 · 8.2 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 6.7% | 14% |
| Villemoustaussou 4,401 · 8.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 1.8% | 6% |
| Pennautier 2,895 · 10.4 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
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 Barbaira
What is the population of Barbaira?
805 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (745).
How old are Barbaira’s residents?
The median age is 41.9, younger than 66% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barbaira?
24, with occasional dwellings: 5.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barbaira?
INSEE counts 44 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.4% of residents, and 24 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barbaira?
€21,830 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.