Older than 94% of compared French towns: half of Arles-sur-Tech is over 54.8
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 4.1%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Fewer couples with children than in 82% of compared French towns: 18%. At the 2023 Census Arles-sur-Tech was home to 2,815 people in 1,340 households. On the census count, one in ten homes are second homes.
Throughout this page, the Pyrénées-Orientales 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 Arles-sur-Tech
An older town
Half of Arles-sur-Tech’s residents are under 54.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 370 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Arles-sur-Tech has grown +5%, faster than 52% 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
Here the change came as +1% to 2017, then +4% to 2023.
32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 90% 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
■ Arles-sur-Tech 54.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Arles-sur-Tech, 8.3%. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
40% of households are one person living alone, a share 70% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Pyrénées-Orientales median and the France median
Living alone · share
10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Arles-sur-Tech. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2 people.
Arles-sur-Tech ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 19%
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
Flats: 35% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 6.8% of households rent social housing (HLM). Few places have as many households without a car: 15% here, more than in just over two thirds of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €21,480 a year to live on
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €21,480 a year: lower than in 91% of compared French towns. Some 24.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
More households headed by a retired person than 84% of compared French towns: 40%
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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (17%), Arles-sur-Tech is above two thirds of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
9.6% of residents are immigrants, more than in 69% 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.
Here 6.3% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 40%, a lower share than 67% 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
25% of residents 15 and over are single. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Only 21% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Arles-sur-Tech
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
Nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (2,786 to 2,845 people), the 6th 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.
The youngest is Miremont (37.7), the oldest L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'île (66.6).
Around Arles-sur-Tech, 3 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arles-sur-Tech | 54.8 | 32% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda 3,529 · 2.5 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 54% | 9.1% |
| Céret 7,521 · 6.3 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Maureillas-las-Illas 3,006 · 9 mi | 55.4 | 33% | 13% | 8.3% |
| Le Boulou 5,487 · 11.2 mi | 54 | 35% | 13% | 11% |
| Thuir 8,243 · 13.4 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.1% | 9% |
| Ille-sur-Têt 5,556 · 14.6 mi | 49.6 | 28% | 5.1% | 14% |
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 Arles-sur-Tech
What is the population of Arles-sur-Tech?
2,815 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (2,671).
How old are Arles-sur-Tech’s residents?
The median age is 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arles-sur-Tech?
180, with occasional dwellings: 9.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arles-sur-Tech?
INSEE counts 270 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.6% of residents, and 180 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arles-sur-Tech?
€21,480 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% 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.