A lower share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns, at 9.7%
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (4.9%), Montferrer is below 96% of compared French towns. Households without a car are rarer here than in 90% of compared French towns. 218 residents in 110 households: that is Montferrer at the 2023 Census. Across Montferrer, 3.3% of homes stand empty.
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 Montferrer
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montferrer, 48% of its 220 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 74% 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 Montferrer’s residents are under 53 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Montferrer ranks above 97% of compared French towns on second homes: 48%
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
Nearly a fifth of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
Montferrer’s population changed by +14% since 2012, more than in 80% 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
The median Pyrénées-Orientales town changed +10% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −2% and the next six +16%.
Older than 91% of compared French towns: half of Montferrer is over 53
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montferrer 53. The median compared French town: 44.
In Montferrer, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in just over three fifths of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 120 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
19% of households are single parents, more than in 99% 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, a third of households are one person living alone in Montferrer. On average, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.1 people.
Half above, half below €20,720 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.
Half of Montferrer’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,720 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 28%, a lower share than 72% of compared French towns
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 manager or professional make up about one in 11 here (9.4%). Typically, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 93% of compared French towns, at 16%
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 figure for immigrants is 14% in Montferrer and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in 84% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales has 7.9%. Foreign nationals make up 4.3% 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.
Montferrer ranks below 63% of compared French towns on married residents: 41%
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 Montferrer, just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
15% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 71% 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
Census figures put graduates of higher education at 30% in Montferrer. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (218 to 2,582 people), the 7th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Montferrer is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montferrer | 53 | 24% | 48% | 14% |
| Arles-sur-Tech 2,815 · 2.9 mi | 54.8 | 32% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda 3,529 · 5.4 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 54% | 9.1% |
| Céret 7,521 · 9.1 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Maureillas-las-Illas 3,006 · 11.8 mi | 55.4 | 33% | 13% | 8.3% |
| Le Boulou 5,487 · 14.1 mi | 54 | 35% | 13% | 11% |
| Prades 6,148 · 14.6 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 11% | 11% |
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 Montferrer
What is the population of Montferrer?
218 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (191).
How old are Montferrer’s residents?
The median age is 53, older than 91% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montferrer?
100, with occasional dwellings: 48% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montferrer?
INSEE counts 31 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 14% of residents, and 35 foreign nationals (16%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montferrer?
€20,720 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.