Fewer one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 17%
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 27% of households are headed by a manual worker here. Households in social housing account for 3.7%. At 3.5%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 97% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 264 residents in 120 households.
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 La Force
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 19 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Force, 13% of its 150 homes: higher than in 90% 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 ↓
Growing fast
La Force had 206 residents at the 2012 census and 264 in 2023, up 28%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.4%
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
9.2% of homes stand empty, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 90% of compared French towns: 13% of homes are second homes. The wider picture: 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
La Force grew +28% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 96% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +4% in Aude. Here the change came as +8% to 2017, then +19% to 2023.
In La Force, 18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 77% 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
■ La Force 47.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of La Force’s residents are over 47.1, older than in 70% of compared French towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 9%. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 14% in La Force, more than in 91% 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
In La Force, 19% of households are couples with children, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.3 people. Measured more widely, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €24,850 a year per consumption unit
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 La Force’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,850 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 87% of compared French towns, at 4.8%
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 retired person account for 31%. Elsewhere, 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).
Foreign nationals make up 9.9% in La Force, more than in 81% 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 73% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants account for 11%.
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 81% of compared French towns: 22%
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 44% of residents 15 and over are married here. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
12% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 87% 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 La Force, just over a quarter of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 3 are older than La Force
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Force | 47.1 | 18% | 13% | 11% |
| Bram 3,233 · 3.5 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
| Castelnaudary 12,151 · 10.9 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 2.5% | 13% |
| Limoux 10,532 · 11.5 mi | 50.3 | 30% | 4.7% | 11% |
| Pennautier 2,895 · 12.1 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 13.2 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| Carcassonne 46,080 · 13.2 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 6.7% | 14% |
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 La Force
What is the population of La Force?
264 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 28% more than in 2012 (206).
How old are La Force’s residents?
The median age is 47.1, older than 70% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Force?
19, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Force?
INSEE counts 28 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (9.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Force?
€24,850 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.