Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 0.6%
Here 4.4% of households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. 686 residents in 310 households: that is Ars at the 2023 Census. Across Ars, 28% of households are one person living alone. Fewer households headed by a retired person than in 83% of compared French towns: 25%.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Ars
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ars had 727 residents at the 2012 census and 686 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−6% since 2012: slower than 90% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −1%, and from 2017 to 2023 −5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente town +1%.
Older than 84% of compared French towns: half of Ars is over 50.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ars 50.3. The median compared French town: 44.
22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Ars. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.8%, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%.
In Ars, 6.4% of households are single parents, fewer than in 94% 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 Charente median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.2 people. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Just over a quarter of households are couples with children, more than in 54% of compared French towns.
More second homes than 77% of compared French towns: 5%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. For Ars, the census puts empty homes at 5.5%.
A median of €28,470 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.
Living standards centre on €28,470 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 75% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 26%, a higher share than 97% 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
8% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 2.3%, a lower share than 88% 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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 1.9% in Ars. The median compared commune in Charente has 4.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 88% of compared French towns. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% 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 couples, 51% are married and 8.6% in a PACS (median compared French town: 43% and 6.1%); 9.1% are widowed. Typically, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Ars sits below 74% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (23%)
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
For Ars, the census puts adults with no qualification at 18%. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (686 to 2,582 people), the 14th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Ars sits below 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ars | 50.3 | 27% | 5% | 2.3% |
| Châteaubernard 3,878 · 4.6 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 1.9% | 4.8% |
| Cognac 18,532 · 4.6 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 7.3 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Pons 4,343 · 8.8 mi | 50.3 | 30% | 3.1% | 7.1% |
| Chaniers 3,651 · 10.4 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 4% | 2% |
| Jarnac 4,486 · 10.8 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
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 Ars
What is the population of Ars?
686 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (727).
How old are Ars’ residents?
The median age is 50.3, older than 84% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ars?
17, with occasional dwellings: 5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ars?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ars?
€28,470 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 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.