Cerbère is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.3
10% of households are couples with children (typical compared French town: 25%). There were 630 households in Cerbère at the 2023 Census, home to 1,209 residents. For Cerbère, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 3.1%. Compared with other places, flats are common here: 62%, more than in 85% of compared French towns.
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 Cerbère
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 810 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cerbère, 54% of its 1,510 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 34% 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 Cerbère’s residents are under 58.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cerbère had 1,370 residents at the 2012 census and 1,209 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Cerbère’s households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 54% in Cerbère, more than in 98% 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
Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%. Cerbère has more households in social housing than 90% of compared French towns, at 28%. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car: a fifth of the total.
−12% since 2012, a pace below 98% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +10% for the median Pyrénées-Orientales town, the change came in two steps: −1% from 2012 to 2017, then −11% to 2023.
6.7% of residents are 15 to 24, below 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
■ Cerbère 58.3. The median compared French town: 44.
22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 34% in Cerbère. Set beside that, 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: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
49% of households are one person living alone, a share 92% 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
Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Cerbère has 12%. The average household has 1.8 people. The usual figure: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
€22,690 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €22,690 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 96% of compared French towns: 48%
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 manual worker stands at 13%. 3.1% of Cerbère’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 48% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 59% of compared French towns, at 7.8%
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 59% of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 22: 4.5% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 37% in Cerbère, less than in 85% 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
31% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 72% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification here. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,209 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 3 are older than Cerbère
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerbère | 58.3 | 34% | 54% | 7.8% |
| Banyuls-sur-Mer 4,496 · 3.1 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 52% | 8.7% |
| Port-Vendres 4,018 · 5.9 mi | 56.9 | 37% | 40% | 9.4% |
| Collioure 2,756 · 7 mi | 60.8 | 43% | 71% | 7.7% |
| Argelès-sur-Mer 10,616 · 10.2 mi | 59 | 39% | 61% | 7.6% |
| Sorède 3,512 · 12.1 mi | 58 | 38% | 27% | 8.2% |
| Saint-André 3,388 · 12.3 mi | 54.5 | 36% | 14% | 6.6% |
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 Cerbère
What is the population of Cerbère?
1,209 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (1,370).
How old are Cerbère’s residents?
The median age is 58.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cerbère?
810, with occasional dwellings: 54% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cerbère?
INSEE counts 95 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.8% of residents, and 55 foreign nationals (4.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cerbère?
€22,690 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.