In Arques, 38% of households are couples with children, more than in 98% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Arques has 6.8%. Roughly three in ten: 31% of households are headed by a manual worker. The town has fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.5%. At the 2023 Census Arques was home to 159 people in 68 households.
Throughout this page, the Aveyron 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 Arques
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 15 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arques, 18% of its 86 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
A town of families
38% of households are couples with children and 7.7% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Arques had 120 residents at the 2012 census and 159 in 2023, up 33%: faster growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Arques: 18% of homes are second homes, above 92% 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
In Arques, 4.8% of households have no car, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The share of empty homes stands at 3.5%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Since 2012, Arques has grown +33%, faster than 97% 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
The median Aveyron town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +13% and the next six +18%.
Arques: 24% of residents are 65 or over, above 64% 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
■ Arques 45.1. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.1, Arques is older than 57% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aveyron 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Arques ranks below 97% of compared French towns on one-person households: 23%
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 Aveyron median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 7.7% of households are single parents here. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.3 people.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,120 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €26,120 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 23%, a lower share than 89% 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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Arques sits below 78% of compared French towns for immigrants (3.4%)
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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Arques has 2%. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Arques ranks below 88% of compared French towns on married residents: 36%
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
28% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
In Arques, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 67% 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
By its share of graduates of higher education (33%), Arques is above 60% of compared French towns. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 159 to 2,582 people, the 20th youngest
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).
Older than Arques: 4 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arques | 45.1 | 24% | 18% | 3.4% |
| Bozouls 3,001 · 11.2 mi | 48.4 | 25% | 9.4% | 2.7% |
| Onet-le-Château 12,080 · 11.6 mi | 42.6 | 23% | 2.9% | 14% |
| Rodez 23,981 · 11.6 mi | 41.7 | 24% | 4.3% | 11% |
| Sébazac-Concourès 3,234 · 11.7 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| Sévérac d'Aveyron 4,026 · 12 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 20% | 4.1% |
| Olemps 3,559 · 12.3 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 2% | 3.6% |
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 Arques
What is the population of Arques?
159 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 33% more than in 2012 (120).
How old are Arques’ residents?
The median age is 45.1, older than 57% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arques?
15, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arques?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arques?
€26,120 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.