Households in social housing: 0.6%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
9.8% of homes are second homes; in the typical compared French town the figure is 2.1%. There were 960 households in Les Mages at the 2023 Census, home to 2,106 residents. Households without a car: 5.1% of the total. The town has fewer one-person households than 85% of compared French towns, at 28%.
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 Les Mages
An older town
Half of Les Mages’ residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +9% change since 2012: Les Mages grew faster than 67% 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
In two steps, +7% to 2017 and +2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +7% in Gard.
Older than 89% of compared French towns: half of Les Mages is over 52
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Mages 52. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 86% of compared French towns: 30%. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in ten here (10%).
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 56% of compared French towns: 24%
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
On average, 2.2 people share a household. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Lower than in 64% of compared French towns: 9.2% of households are single parents.
A smaller share of flats than 93% of compared French towns: 6.8%
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
The share of empty homes tops just over four fifths of compared French towns: 10%. The usual figure: 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €23,510 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,510 a year: lower than in 77% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 16.0%.
Les Mages sits below 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (2.1%)
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
Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Les Mages has 44%. Locally, 11% of households are headed by a manual worker. For comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Les Mages sits below 66% of compared French towns for immigrants (4.7%)
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 lower than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. About one in 36: that is how common foreign nationals are in Les Mages (2.8%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 79% of compared French towns, at 47%
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
Here just over a fifth of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 69% 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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification in Les Mages. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (2,106 to 2,582 people), the 9th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Les Mages are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Mages | 52 | 30% | 9.8% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 2.2 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 3.3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Salindres 3,648 · 4.1 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 2.2% | 4% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 4.9 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 5.6 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Privat-des-Vieux 5,703 · 6.3 mi | 49.9 | 28% | 1.7% | 4.2% |
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 Les Mages
What is the population of Les Mages?
2,106 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (1,931).
How old are Les Mages’ residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Mages?
120, with occasional dwellings: 9.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Mages?
INSEE counts 99 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.7% of residents, and 60 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Mages?
€23,510 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% 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.