Photo: Ltqphg · CC0Half of Arès is over 57.5, older than 97% of compared French towns
Where just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Arès has 4.5%. Here, 16% of households are couples with children. On households headed by a retired person, Arès sits higher than 96% of compared French towns: 48%. Its 3,350 households held 6,482 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 Arès
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 1,620 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arès, 31% of its 5,190 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 92% 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 Arès’ residents are under 57.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Arès, 31% of homes are second homes, more than in 95% 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
15% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Empty homes: 4.3% of the total. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Growth of +14% since 2012 puts Arès ahead of 80% 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
The first five years brought +11%; the six to 2023, +3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Gironde town +16%.
38% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% 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
■ Arès 57.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In Arès, 6.4% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 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.
Arès sits above 74% of compared French towns for one-person households (41%)
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Arès has 8.4%. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 1.9 people.
The median resident lives on €28,570 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.
Half of residents live in households above €28,570 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 75% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 9.0% of residents are below the line.
Fewer households headed by a manual worker than 87% of compared French towns: 8.1%
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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional is 6.3%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 73% of compared French towns: 4%
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.
Here 2.4% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Married residents: 46% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. Typically, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Arès sits below 56% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (28%)
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
Here, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Ranked by age, 2nd 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.
The youngest is Vezin-le-Coquet (36.5), the oldest Gueugnon (58).
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Arès
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arès | 57.5 | 38% | 31% | 4% |
| Andernos-les-Bains 12,710 · 2.7 mi | 60 | 42% | 29% | 2.5% |
| Lège-Cap-Ferret 7,909 · 2.9 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 65% | 4.2% |
| Lanton 7,337 · 5.6 mi | 58.2 | 38% | 22% | 2.9% |
| Le Porge 3,465 · 7.1 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 38% | 4.7% |
| Arcachon 11,092 · 7.8 mi | 67.4 | 54% | 62% | 4.4% |
| Audenge 9,596 · 8.5 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 9% | 3.6% |
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 Arès
What is the population of Arès?
6,482 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (5,674).
How old are Arès’ residents?
The median age is 57.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arès?
1,620, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arès?
INSEE counts 260 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4% of residents, and 160 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arès?
€28,570 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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 9, 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.