A median age of 59.2: La Bastide is older than 98% of compared French towns
Couples with children are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. There were 32 households in La Bastide at the 2023 Census, home to 60 residents. The share of flats stands at 8.1%. With households without a car at 27%, La Bastide is ahead of 93% of compared French towns on that count.
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 La Bastide
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 74 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Bastide, 70% of its 110 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 91% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in La Bastide (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 24% of residents, against 7.9% for the median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales. 21% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
An older town
Half of La Bastide’s residents are under 59.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Bastide had 80 residents at the 2012 census and 60 in 2023, down 25%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 99% of compared French towns, at 70%
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 four has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes.
La Bastide changed by −25% from 2012 to 2023, behind 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Pyrénées-Orientales town +10%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 2.9% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Bastide 59.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 35%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 94% of compared French towns: 50%
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
Average household size: 1.7 people. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
La Bastide sits above 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (63%)
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in La Bastide comes in at 12%. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
La Bastide ranks above 96% of compared French towns on immigrants: 24%
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 96% of compared French towns. Roughly two in ten: just over a fifth of residents are foreign nationals. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 89% of compared French towns, at 35%
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
Census figures put single residents at 24% in La Bastide. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
La Bastide: 23% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 70% 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
The share of graduates of higher education is 26%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 60 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than La Bastide
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Bastide | 59.2 | 35% | 70% | 24% |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda 3,529 · 6.4 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 54% | 9.1% |
| Arles-sur-Tech 2,815 · 6.5 mi | 54.8 | 32% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Ille-sur-Têt 5,556 · 8.7 mi | 49.6 | 28% | 5.1% | 14% |
| Céret 7,521 · 9.1 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Prades 6,148 · 9.6 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 11% | 11% |
| Thuir 8,243 · 10.4 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.1% | 9% |
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 La Bastide
What is the population of La Bastide?
60 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 25% fewer than in 2012 (80).
How old are La Bastide’s residents?
The median age is 59.2, older than 98% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Bastide?
74, with occasional dwellings: 70% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Bastide?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 24% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (21%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.