2.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 19% of households are couples with children in Capendu. The 2023 Census counted 1,453 residents in 670 households. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 8.3%. Higher than in 86% of compared French towns: 8.4% of homes are second homes.
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 Capendu
Fewer residents than in 2012
Capendu had 1,604 residents at the 2012 census and 1,453 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Capendu’s residents are under 52.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 97 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 96% of compared French towns: Capendu changed by −9% since 2012
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
In two steps, −8% to 2017 and −1% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +4% in Aude.
Half of Capendu is over 52.6, older than 90% 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
■ Capendu 52.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 31% in Capendu and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Capendu: 37% of households are one person living alone, above 58% 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
On average, 2 people share a household. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few single-parent households: 9.6% here, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns.
A higher share of empty homes than 86% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 12% of homes are flats in Capendu. Locally, 13% of households rent social housing (HLM). Households without a car are more common here than in 58% of compared French towns. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €20,300 a year in 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 €20,300 a year: lower than in 96% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 70% of compared French towns: 36%
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
17% of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 66% of compared French towns: 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 5.3%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer single residents than 61% of compared French towns: 24%
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 residents account for 42%. Across the comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 88% of compared French towns: 19%
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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 77% of compared French towns: 25%. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 1,453 to 2,582 people, the 8th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Every neighbor is younger than Capendu
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capendu | 52.6 | 31% | 8.4% | 9% |
| Trèbes 5,361 · 5.8 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 3.4% | 12% |
| Palaja 2,722 · 8.4 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 2.5% | 5.8% |
| Conques-sur-Orbiel 2,523 · 9.8 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 3.9% | 6.2% |
| Lézignan-Corbières 10,343 · 10.3 mi | 48.3 | 30% | 3% | 7.8% |
| Carcassonne 46,080 · 10.4 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 6.7% | 14% |
| Villemoustaussou 4,401 · 10.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 1.8% | 6% |
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 Capendu
What is the population of Capendu?
1,453 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (1,604).
How old are Capendu’s residents?
The median age is 52.6, older than 90% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Capendu?
70, with occasional dwellings: 8.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Capendu?
INSEE counts 130 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9% of residents, and 78 foreign nationals (5.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Capendu?
€20,300 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.