14% of homes stand empty, a share 93% of compared French towns don’t reach
By its share of households in social housing (4.9%), Estagel is below 87% of compared French towns. With a median age of 46.8, Estagel is older than just over two thirds of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 2,160 residents and 1,030 households here. In Estagel, 13% of households are single parents.
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 Estagel
Empty homes
The census found 180 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +11% change since 2012: Estagel grew faster than 72% 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 Pyrénées-Orientales town +10%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought +3%; 2017 to 2023, +7%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 82% of compared French towns: 8.9%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Estagel 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over here. As a reference point, 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.
Couples with children: 22%, a lower share than 66% 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 Pyrénées-Orientales median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 38% of households are one person living alone in Estagel. There are 2.1 people in the average household. To put it in context, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
In Estagel, 7% of homes are second homes, more than in 83% 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
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Estagel, 13%. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Flats make up about one in eight here (12%).
Half above, half below €21,440 a year in standard of living
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 €21,440 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 92% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 25.0%.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 87% of compared French towns: 4.9%
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 manual worker make up 12%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. On average, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in three: just over a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.6% of Estagel’s residents are immigrants
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 Estagel, 3.9% of residents are foreign nationals. That is higher than in half of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales has 7.9%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of single residents than 59% of compared French towns, at 27%
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
The census found that 43% of residents 15 and over are married in Estagel. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 73% of compared French towns: 15%
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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 25% in Estagel. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 2,160 to 2,582 people, the 17th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Older than Estagel: 1 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estagel | 46.8 | 26% | 7% | 6.6% |
| Millas 4,417 · 5.5 mi | 45.1 | 24% | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| Baixas 2,777 · 5.8 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Pézilla-la-Rivière 4,129 · 6.4 mi | 41.6 | 20% | 2.6% | 6% |
| Espira-de-l'Agly 3,524 · 6.8 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Féliu-d'Avall 2,950 · 6.8 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 2.5% | 13% |
| Baho 3,231 · 8 mi | 48.5 | 22% | 1.3% | 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 Estagel
What is the population of Estagel?
2,160 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (1,950).
How old are Estagel’s residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Estagel?
91, with occasional dwellings: 7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Estagel?
INSEE counts 140 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.6% of residents, and 84 foreign nationals (3.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Estagel?
€21,440 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.0% 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.