In Arbas, 41% of homes are second homes, more than in 96% of compared French towns
Residents aged 15 to 24: 4.6%, below 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 285 people lived in Arbas, in 150 households. Households headed by a retired person account for 57%. This Haute-Garonne town has fewer households in social housing than 84% of compared French towns, at 5.4%.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Garonne 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 Arbas
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arbas, 41% of its 250 homes: higher than in 96% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Arbas’ residents are under 53.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Arbas had 227 residents at the 2012 census and 285 in 2023, up 26%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
8.4% of homes are flats, below 89% 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
One household in 11 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Flats make up 30% in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly one in ten households have no car. Empty homes are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Growth of +26% since 2012 puts Arbas ahead of 95% 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 +16%; from 2017 to 2023, +8%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Haute-Garonne town +15%.
Arbas is older than 92% of compared French towns: a median age of 53.7
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Arbas 53.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 31%, Arbas is ahead of 88% of compared French towns on that count.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Garonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
3.3% of households are single parents, 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 Haute-Garonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 1.9 people in the average household. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 43% of households are one person living alone, more than in 80% of compared French towns. Still, in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Arbas has 20%.
Median standard of living: €22,100 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 midpoint of living standards here is €22,100 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 88% of compared French towns.
Arbas ranks below 96% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 3.3%
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Arbas, 3.3%. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.8% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 68% 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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 61% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Haute-Garonne has 7.5%. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. In Arbas, 5.3% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 21%, a lower share than 84% of compared French towns
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
47% are married and 3.8% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 11% are widowed. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Arbas: 35% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 65% 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
Here, a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 285 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).
Every neighbor is younger than Arbas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbas | 53.7 | 31% | 41% | 5.3% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 12.1 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
| Saint-Gaudens 12,139 · 12.2 mi | 50.1 | 31% | 2.3% | 11% |
| Cazères 4,854 · 17.4 mi | 44.6 | 24% | 2.5% | 7.8% |
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 Arbas
What is the population of Arbas?
285 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% more than in 2012 (227).
How old are Arbas’ residents?
The median age is 53.7, older than 92% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arbas?
100, with occasional dwellings: 41% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arbas?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arbas?
€22,100 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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.