Older than 95% of compared French towns: half of Les Cluses is over 56.3
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 2% in Les Cluses. This Pyrénées-Orientales town counted 282 residents and 130 households at the 2023 Census. Households without a car account for 1.5%. Empty homes are rarer here than in 99% 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 Les Cluses
An older town
Half of Les Cluses’ residents are under 56.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Les Cluses grew +8% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 65% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +10% in Pyrénées-Orientales. Here the change came as −7% to 2017, then +17% to 2023.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of compared French towns: 7%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Cluses 56.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, 35% of residents are 65 or over here. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Les Cluses sits below 90% of compared French towns for single-parent households (7%)
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
Each household has 2.2 people on average. Couples with children are rarer here than in 70% of compared French towns. Typically, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The figure for one-person households is 29% in Les Cluses and 35% in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of second homes than 78% of compared French towns, at 5.2%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Some 6.5% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 14% who have been there 30 years or more.
€25,280 a year: the median 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.
Half of Les Cluses’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,280 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
43% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Les Cluses has 7%. On average, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. The census found that 14% of households are headed by a manual worker here.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 60% of compared French towns, at 7.9%
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.
About one in 23: that is how common foreign nationals are in Les Cluses (4.3%). 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.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, below 98% 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
In Les Cluses, 49% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Below 62% of compared French towns: 27% 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
About one in six: that is how common adults with no qualification are in Les Cluses (18%). Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 4 are older than Les Cluses
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Cluses | 56.3 | 35% | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| Maureillas-las-Illas 3,006 · 1.4 mi | 55.4 | 33% | 13% | 8.3% |
| Le Boulou 5,487 · 2.3 mi | 54 | 35% | 13% | 11% |
| Céret 7,521 · 4.2 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines 3,059 · 5.9 mi | 59 | 40% | 11% | 8% |
| Sorède 3,512 · 7 mi | 58 | 38% | 27% | 8.2% |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda 3,529 · 8 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 54% | 9.1% |
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 Les Cluses
What is the population of Les Cluses?
282 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (260).
How old are Les Cluses’ residents?
The median age is 56.3, older than 95% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Cluses?
7, with occasional dwellings: 5.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Cluses?
INSEE counts 22 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.9% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Cluses?
€25,280 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.