A median age of 67.4: Arcachon is older than 99% of compared French towns
67% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). At the 2023 Census, 11,092 people lived in Arcachon, in 6,610 households. Put another way, about one in 17: 5.8% of households are single parents. Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 98% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Gironde 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 Arcachon
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 11,090 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arcachon, 62% of its 17,920 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 27% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Arcachon’s residents are under 67.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 54% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 20% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
55% of Arcachon’s households are one person: higher than in 98% 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.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 62% of homes are second homes
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
One household in five has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Households without a car account for 19%. Compared with other places, empty homes are scarce here: 1.2%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
−2% since 2012: slower than 78% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +16% for the median Gironde town, the change came in two steps: ±0% from 2012 to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
Arcachon sits above 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (54%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Arcachon 67.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 5.8%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
58% women, 42% men
About 73 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
7.4% of households are couples with children, below 99% 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 Gironde median and the France median
Living alone · share
With one-person households at 55%, Arcachon is ahead of 98% of compared French towns on that count. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. The average household has 1.6 people.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €31,420 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 median standard of living in Arcachon is €31,420 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 12.0%.
In Arcachon, 62% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 99% 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
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 7.6% in Arcachon. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Arcachon sits below 74% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (2.3%)
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 4.4% in Arcachon. That is lower than in 69% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Gironde has 5.1%. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Arcachon sits below 94% of compared French towns for single residents (19%)
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
46% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Arcachon, 41% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 81% 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
15% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 10,875 to 11,315 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 Vétraz-Monthoux (36.7), the oldest Arcachon (67.4).
Every neighbor is younger than Arcachon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcachon | 67.4 | 54% | 62% | 4.4% |
| La Teste-de-Buch 27,566 · 3 mi | 52.4 | 33% | 26% | 4.6% |
| Gujan-Mestras 22,153 · 4.7 mi | 52.5 | 31% | 16% | 3.2% |
| Lège-Cap-Ferret 7,909 · 6.3 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 65% | 4.2% |
| Le Teich 9,180 · 7.2 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 6.8% | 3.6% |
| Lanton 7,337 · 7.4 mi | 58.2 | 38% | 22% | 2.9% |
| Andernos-les-Bains 12,710 · 7.4 mi | 60 | 42% | 29% | 2.5% |
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 Arcachon
What is the population of Arcachon?
11,092 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (11,307).
How old are Arcachon’s residents?
The median age is 67.4, older than 99% of compared French towns. 8.9% are under 18 and 54% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arcachon?
11,090, with occasional dwellings: 62% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arcachon?
INSEE counts 490 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 260 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arcachon?
€31,420 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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.