Montréal sits below 94% of compared French towns for flats (5.7%)
The share of second homes tops 87% of compared French towns: 9.6%. Put another way, about one in 29: 3.5% of households rent social housing (HLM). On single-parent households, Montréal sits higher than 95% of compared French towns: 15%. The town’s 880 households held 2,136 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 Montréal
Empty homes
The census found 160 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Montréal’s population changed by +11% since 2012, more than in 72% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Aude town +4%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was −2%; from 2017 to 2023, +13%.
Half of Montréal is over 45.2, older than 58% 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
■ Montréal 45.2. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (24%), Montréal is above 62% of compared French towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aude 52.3%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 69% of compared French towns: 32%
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, 2.3 people share a household. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. A quarter of households are couples with children, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 93% of compared French towns: 14%
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
Some 11% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 18% who have been there 30 years or more. Put another way, about one in ten: 9.6% of households have no car. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €23,380 a year
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.
Living standards centre on €23,380 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
Montréal ranks below 63% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 12%
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 make up 34%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. 8.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in 12.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.6% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 61% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 53% of compared French towns. Locally, 6.8% of residents are immigrants. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 37% in Montréal, less than in 83% 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
In Montréal, 29% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Montréal: 23% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 70% 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
Locally, 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. The comparison figure for adults with no qualification is 19% in the typical compared French town.
21st highest median age among 41 French towns of 2,136 to 2,582
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.
Montréal sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montréal | 45.2 | 24% | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| Bram 3,233 · 3.2 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 2.2% | 5.6% |
| Pennautier 2,895 · 9.5 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Carcassonne 46,080 · 10.6 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 6.7% | 14% |
| Limoux 10,532 · 10.7 mi | 50.3 | 30% | 4.7% | 11% |
| Villemoustaussou 4,401 · 11.6 mi | 47 | 25% | 1.8% | 6% |
| Castelnaudary 12,151 · 12.4 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 2.5% | 13% |
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 Montréal
What is the population of Montréal?
2,136 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (1,927).
How old are Montréal’s residents?
The median age is 45.2, older than 58% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montréal?
110, with occasional dwellings: 9.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montréal?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.8% of residents, and 120 foreign nationals (5.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montréal?
€23,380 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 8, 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.