Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 28 in Aude, Occitanie.
Mérial is too small to grade: French towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.
The 2 things Mérial does most differently from other towns.
The Culture ministry lists no building in Mérial as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Croix en fer forgé, in Sorgeat, 7.6 mi away.
62% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Mérial.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 12% of the town. Children under 15 make up 16%, above Aude’s towns (15%) but below compared French towns (17%). Just over a quarter of adults hold a degree.
44% women, 56% men
About 79 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
| Mérial | Aude median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 8.9% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 19% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 12% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 36% | 29% | 22% |
| No diploma | 26% | 21% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 11% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Higher education | 26% | 25% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Aude median and France median: the median of compared communes
Unemployment runs at 12.5%. 42.9% of Mérial’s working residents had no journey to work at the census.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
From July 2023 to June 2026, 3 homes were sold in Mérial.
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nothing in Mérial is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Mérial yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
Commune in Aude, Occitanie
Mérial is a commune of 28 people in the Communauté de communes Pyrénées Audoises. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 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.