Couples with children make up 14% in Le Perthus, less than in 94% of compared French towns
The median age in Le Perthus is 50.4, higher than in 84% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 555, in 270 households. Put another way, about one in 13: 7.5% of households are headed by a manual worker. The figure for households in social housing is 25% in Le Perthus and 12% in the typical compared French town.
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 Le Perthus
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 44 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Perthus, 12% of its 360 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 61% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 100 immigrants in Le Perthus (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 27% of residents, against 7.9% for the median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales. 23% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Empty homes
The census found 47 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Perthus had 580 residents at the 2012 census and 555 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 89% of compared French towns: 12%
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 Le Perthus, 13% of homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Here, 53% of homes are flats. 14% of households have no car, more than in 64% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, 86% of compared French towns grew faster than Le Perthus: −4%
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
The change was −1% from 2012 to 2017 and −3% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Pyrénées-Orientales town +10%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 89% of compared French towns, at 8.4%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Perthus 50.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In Le Perthus, a quarter of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns, at 17%
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
The share of one-person households tops nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 43%. Measured more widely, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2 people on average.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €17,100 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.
At €17,100 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
Below 95% of compared French towns: 3.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
40% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). As a yardstick, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
27% of residents are immigrants, more than in 97% 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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Le Perthus, 23%. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town.
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 76% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
In Le Perthus, just over two in five residents 15 and over are married. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Below 86% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Le Perthus, 25%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 13th oldest of 41 French towns of 555 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.
Every neighbor is older than Le Perthus
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Perthus | 50.4 | 25% | 12% | 27% |
| Maureillas-las-Illas 3,006 · 3.4 mi | 55.4 | 33% | 13% | 8.3% |
| Le Boulou 5,487 · 4.3 mi | 54 | 35% | 13% | 11% |
| Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines 3,059 · 6.1 mi | 59 | 40% | 11% | 8% |
| Céret 7,521 · 6.1 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Sorède 3,512 · 6.6 mi | 58 | 38% | 27% | 8.2% |
| Saint-André 3,388 · 8.1 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 Le Perthus
What is the population of Le Perthus?
555 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (580).
How old are Le Perthus’ residents?
The median age is 50.4, older than 84% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Perthus?
44, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Perthus?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 27% of residents, and 130 foreign nationals (23%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Perthus?
€17,100 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.