A smaller share of couples with children than 89% of compared French towns: 16%
In Carcassonne, 6.7% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census Carcassonne was home to 46,080 people in 23,160 households. The census found that just over a fifth of households have no car here. 18% of households rent social housing (HLM), a higher share than in 71% 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.
A −2% change since 2012: slower than 78% 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
In Carcassonne, 26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 73% 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
■ Carcassonne 46.6. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.6, Carcassonne is older than 67% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Locally, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
46% of households are one person living alone, a share 87% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Average household size: 1.9 people. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 68% of compared French towns: 11% of households are single parents.
49% of homes are flats, a share 74% 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
One household in five has no car (median compared French town: 11%). On empty homes, Carcassonne sits higher than three quarters of compared French towns: 9.3%. Set beside that, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €21,620 a year to live on
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.
Half of residents live in households above €21,620 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 91% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 28.2% of residents.
7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 67% 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
Here just over a third of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. In Carcassonne, 12% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Carcassonne, 14% of residents are immigrants, more than in 84% 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 higher than in 84% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals come to 11% in Carcassonne, about one in ten. Immigrants make up 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.
Single residents: 32%, a higher share than 86% of compared French towns
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
38% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
More adults with no qualification than 66% of compared French towns: 22%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Carcassonne. Adults with no qualification: 19% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest 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.
The youngest is Talence (30.5), the oldest Saint-Malo (53.9).
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Carcassonne
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carcassonne | 46.6 | 26% | 6.7% | 14% |
| Pennautier 2,895 · 2.7 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Villemoustaussou 4,401 · 2.7 mi | 47 | 25% | 1.8% | 6% |
| Palaja 2,722 · 3.4 mi | 46.2 | 22% | 2.5% | 5.8% |
| Conques-sur-Orbiel 2,523 · 4.5 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 3.9% | 6.2% |
| Trèbes 5,361 · 4.8 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 3.4% | 12% |
| Bram 3,233 · 12.2 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
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 Carcassonne
What is the population of Carcassonne?
46,080 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (47,068).
How old are Carcassonne’s residents?
The median age is 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Carcassonne?
1,830, with occasional dwellings: 6.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Carcassonne?
INSEE counts 6,510 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 14% of residents, and 4,910 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Carcassonne?
€21,620 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 28.2% 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.