A lower share of couples with children than 92% of compared French towns, at 15%
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 4.3% in Alès. The 2023 Census counted 46,125 residents in 23,890 households. The share of flats stands at 63%. The town has more households without a car than 89% of compared French towns, at 24%.
Throughout this page, the Gard 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 Alès
Many people living alone
47% of Alès’ households are one person: higher than in 89% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Alès grew +12% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 76% 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 −2%, and from 2017 to 2023 +15%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Gard town +7%.
In Alès, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 75% 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
■ Alès 46.3. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (13%), Alès is above 89% of compared French towns. On top of that, with a median age of 46.3, Alès is older than nearly two thirds of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households make up 47% in Alès, more than in 89% 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 Gard median and the France median
Living alone · share
In Alès, 13% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. Each household has 1.9 people on average. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing: 23%, a higher share than 83% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 15% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 14% (under two years). Fewer second homes than in 76% of compared French towns: 1.1%. Typically, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. 6.8% of homes stand empty, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €20,260 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €20,260 a year: lower than in 96% of compared French towns. 31.4% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
In Alès, 38% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 76% 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 manual worker make up about one in eight here (13%). 4.3% of Alès’ households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 38% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.3% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 76% 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.
The median compared commune in Gard has 6.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 69% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. For Alès, the census puts immigrants at 9.8%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 91% of compared French towns: 35% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Single residents: 34%, above 90% of compared French towns. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 85% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 83% of compared French towns: 27%. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 6th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.5 in Talence to 53.9 in Saint-Malo.
Every neighbor is older than Alès
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alès | 46.3 | 27% | 1.1% | 9.8% |
| Saint-Privat-des-Vieux 5,703 · 2.2 mi | 49.9 | 28% | 1.7% | 4.2% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Valgalgues 4,840 · 2.5 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 0.9% | 9.3% |
| Saint-Hilaire-de-Brethmas 4,670 · 2.7 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 2% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Christol-lez-Alès 7,310 · 3.4 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 2.2% | 6.2% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 3.5 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Bagard 2,605 · 4.5 mi | 51.5 | 30% | 3.6% | 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 Alès
What is the population of Alès?
46,125 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (41,031).
How old are Alès’ residents?
The median age is 46.3, older than 65% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Alès?
290, with occasional dwellings: 1.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Alès?
INSEE counts 4,500 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 3,840 foreign nationals (8.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Alès?
€20,260 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 31.4% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.