A median age of 58: Esterre is older than 97% of compared French towns
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, 2.4% of homes stand empty in Esterre. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 184, in 89 households. Single-parent households make up about one in 18 here (5.6%). Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Hautes-Pyrénées 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 Esterre
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 160 second homes and occasional dwellings in Esterre, 62% of its 250 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 39% 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 Esterre’s residents are under 58 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Esterre had 195 residents at the 2012 census and 184 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 62%, a higher share than 99% 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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 33% of homes are flats in Esterre. 5.6% of households rent social housing (HLM), or about one in 18. Few places have so few households without a car: 6.7% here, fewer than in three quarters of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Slower than most: −6% since 2012, behind 90% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Hautes-Pyrénées town ±0%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −2%; 2017 to 2023, −4%.
Esterre sits below 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (3.8%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Esterre 58. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Esterre has 34%. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Hautes-Pyrénées 53.4%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 11% in Esterre, less than in 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 Hautes-Pyrénées median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.1 people each. Set beside that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 28% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €28,260 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.
At €28,260 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 73% of compared French towns.
Below 95% of compared French towns: 5.6% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 retired person tops four fifths of compared French towns: 39%. 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).
In Esterre, 2.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Esterre has 1.1%. The wider picture: 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
Against a figure of 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Esterre comes in at 47%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 94% of compared French towns: 10%
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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Esterre has 28%. Set beside that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 184 to 2,582 people: this is the 5th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Nearby, 1 of 3 towns have older populations than Esterre
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esterre | 58 | 34% | 62% | 2.2% |
| Argelès-Gazost 2,761 · 10.4 mi | 59.7 | 41% | 27% | 5.1% |
| Bagnères-de-Bigorre 7,114 · 15.1 mi | 56 | 37% | 43% | 7.5% |
| Lourdes 13,266 · 15.6 mi | 55.1 | 34% | 12% | 16% |
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 Esterre
What is the population of Esterre?
184 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (195).
How old are Esterre’s residents?
The median age is 58, older than 97% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Esterre?
160, with occasional dwellings: 62% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Esterre?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Esterre?
€28,260 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.