Below 99% of compared French towns: 2% of homes are flats
4% of homes stand empty, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Here, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Throughout this page, the Gers 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 Sion
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 12 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sion, 20% of its 58 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 90% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sion had 121 residents at the 2012 census and 99 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Sion’s residents are under 51.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Sion, 20% of homes are second homes, more than in 93% 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
2.1% of households arrived within the last two years, while 38% have stayed 30 years or more. Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
−18% since 2012: slower than 99% 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 change was −15%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Gers town ±0%.
Sion is older than 88% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sion 51.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 30%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
41% women, 59% men
About 70 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Gers 52.4%, France 51.8%.
More single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 20%
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 Gers median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of one-person households trails 77% of compared French towns: 30%. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.2 people each. On couples with children, Sion sits lower than 74% of compared French towns: 20%.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 99% of compared French towns: 30%
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
Set against 32% in the typical compared French town, 30% of households are headed by a retired person in Sion. By way of comparison, 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 make up 6.5% of Sion’s residents
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 Gers has 7.9%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in half of compared French towns. For Sion, the census puts foreign nationals at 4.7%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Sion ranks above 81% of compared French towns on single residents: 31%
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 two in five residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 62% of compared French towns: 17%
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
Across Sion, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
The 10th oldest of 41 French towns of 99 to 2,582 people
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).
Sion is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sion | 51.5 | 30% | 20% | 6.5% |
| Eauze 4,108 · 9.5 mi | 54.2 | 33% | 8.4% | 20% |
| Aire-sur-l'Adour 6,211 · 13.8 mi | 52.8 | 32% | 4% | 6.7% |
| Vic-Fezensac 3,577 · 14.8 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 4.6% | 6.1% |
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 Sion
What is the population of Sion?
99 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (121).
How old are Sion’s residents?
The median age is 51.5, older than 88% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sion?
12, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sion?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.5% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (4.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.