Castelnou is older than 96% of compared French towns: a median age of 56.8
By its share of households in social housing (0.7%), Castelnou is below 99% of compared French towns. Just over one in ten households are couples with children, fewer than in 97% of compared French towns. There were 140 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 280 residents. The census found that 7.6% of households are headed by a manual worker here.
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 Castelnou
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 59 second homes and occasional dwellings in Castelnou, 28% of its 210 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Castelnou had 350 residents at the 2012 census and 280 in 2023, down 20%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Castelnou’s residents are under 56.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 28% of homes are second homes
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 20 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Flats account for 9.1%. On households without a car, Castelnou sits lower than 88% of compared French towns: 5%. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
−20% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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
In two steps, −10% to 2017 and −11% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +10% in Pyrénées-Orientales.
In Castelnou, 5.4% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% 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
■ Castelnou 56.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In Castelnou, a third of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Below 79% of compared French towns: 30% of households are one person living alone
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
Households here average 2 people each. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Castelnou has fewer single-parent households than 83% of compared French towns, at 7.7%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €26,160 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 median standard of living in Castelnou is €26,160 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 99% of compared French towns: 57%
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 make up 8.1%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Castelnou sits above 69% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (6.9%)
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.
The median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales has 7.9%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 64% of compared French towns. Against that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up about one in 12 here (8.6%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 17%
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: 48% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
40% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 79% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 15%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 280 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Castelnou is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castelnou | 56.8 | 33% | 28% | 8.6% |
| Thuir 8,243 · 2.2 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.1% | 9% |
| Saint-Féliu-d'Avall 2,950 · 3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 2.5% | 13% |
| Millas 4,417 · 3.7 mi | 45.1 | 24% | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| Pézilla-la-Rivière 4,129 · 4.7 mi | 41.6 | 20% | 2.6% | 6% |
| Le Soler 7,942 · 5 mi | 45.4 | 24% | 1.9% | 8.7% |
| Ille-sur-Têt 5,556 · 5.2 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 Castelnou
What is the population of Castelnou?
280 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 20% fewer than in 2012 (350).
How old are Castelnou’s residents?
The median age is 56.8, older than 96% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Castelnou?
59, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Castelnou?
INSEE counts 24 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.6% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (6.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Castelnou?
€26,160 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.