A median age of 56.7: Padern is older than 96% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children; in Padern, 12%. The town is home to 139 residents in 88 households, by the 2023 Census. Empty homes: 2% of the total. 29% of households are headed by a manual worker, a higher share than in 99% 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.
What stands out about the people of Padern
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Padern, 53% of its 200 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
65% of Padern’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 62% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Padern’s residents are under 56.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
53% of homes are second homes, more than in 98% of compared French towns
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
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Padern. The census found that 2.6% of homes are flats here. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A +9% change since 2012: Padern grew faster than 68% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +4% for the median Aude town, the change came in two steps: +4% from 2012 to 2017, then +5% to 2023.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 2.9% in Padern, less than in 99% 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
■ Padern 56.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In Padern, 37% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
More one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 65%
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, 1.5 people share a household. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 5.9%, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €17,490 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.
At €17,490 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 18%, a higher share than 84% 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
Households headed by a retired person: 35%, above 65% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Padern sits above 91% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (14%)
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.
Here 13% of residents are immigrants, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. That is higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Aude has 6%. The usual figure: 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Married residents make up 35% in Padern, less than in 91% 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
The share of single residents is 24%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
A higher share of graduates of higher education than 77% of compared French towns, at 39%
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 the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Padern has 17%. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
41 French towns of 139 to 2,582 people: this is the 5th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Padern
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padern | 56.7 | 37% | 53% | 13% |
| Espira-de-l'Agly 3,524 · 11 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Baixas 2,777 · 11.3 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Millas 4,417 · 12.4 mi | 45.1 | 24% | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| Rivesaltes 9,270 · 13.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 3.1% | 9.3% |
| Pézilla-la-Rivière 4,129 · 13.3 mi | 41.6 | 20% | 2.6% | 6% |
| Salses-le-Château 3,965 · 13.5 mi | 42.2 | 23% | 7% | 5.8% |
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 Padern
What is the population of Padern?
139 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (127).
How old are Padern’s residents?
The median age is 56.7, older than 96% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Padern?
100, with occasional dwellings: 53% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Padern?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Padern?
€17,490 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.