A median age of 61.5: Calès is older than 99% of compared French towns
In Calès, 53% of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. Meanwhile, on households without a car, Calès sits lower than 90% of compared French towns: 4.7%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 169, in 83 households. Flats make up about one in 42 here (2.4%).
Throughout this page, the Lot 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 Calès
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 77 second homes and occasional dwellings in Calès, 45% of its 170 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 99% 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 Calès’ residents are under 61.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% 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.
A larger share of second homes than 97% of compared French towns: 45%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Long tenure is the mark of 22% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 3.5% (under two years). Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. At 5.8%, the share of empty homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, 67% of compared French towns grew faster than Calès: +1%
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
41% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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
■ Calès 61.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 4% of residents are 15 to 24 in Calès. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Lot 53.3%, France 51.8%.
5.9% of households are single parents, fewer than in 96% 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 Lot median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for couples with children is 18% in Calès and 25% in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 79% of compared French towns: 29% of households are one person living alone. Typically, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. There are 2 people in the average household.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,350 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 €26,350 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
Only 5.9% of households are headed by a manual worker in Calès
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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).
A larger share of foreign nationals than 72% of compared French towns: 7.5%
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%; Calès has 8.6%. The median compared commune in Lot has 9.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 64% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% 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.
Calès ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single residents: 16%
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
By its share of married residents (54%), Calès is above 98% of compared French towns. For comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 82% of compared French towns: 13%
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
The share of graduates of higher education tops 63% of compared French towns: 34%. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 2nd oldest of 41 French towns of 169 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).
No nearby town is as old as Calès
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calès | 61.5 | 41% | 45% | 8.6% |
| Souillac 3,192 · 6.9 mi | 52.6 | 35% | 12% | 13% |
| Gourdon 4,206 · 9.2 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 13% | 9.5% |
| Gramat 3,512 · 9.5 mi | 55.1 | 36% | 9.4% | 9.5% |
| Sarlat-la-Canéda 8,763 · 16.5 mi | 55 | 34% | 19% | 9.1% |
| Saint-Céré 3,429 · 17.7 mi | 54.6 | 36% | 7.6% | 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 Calès
What is the population of Calès?
169 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (168).
How old are Calès’ residents?
The median age is 61.5, older than 99% of compared French towns. 9.2% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Calès?
77, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Calès?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.6% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (7.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Calès?
€26,350 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 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.