A larger share of second homes than 99% of compared French towns: 70%
Here 14% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. In 2023, the Census found 28 residents in Oreilla, living in 13 households. 115% more people than in 2012. At 5.7%, the share of empty homes is lower than in 65% 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 Oreilla
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 37 second homes and occasional dwellings in Oreilla, 70% of its 53 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Oreilla had 13 residents at the 2012 census and 28 in 2023, up 115%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Oreilla’s residents are under 55 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 0% 80 or older. Ages ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 0% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
One home in two in Oreilla is a second home
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 without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Oreilla grew +115% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 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
The median Pyrénées-Orientales town changed +10% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +77% and the next six +22%.
Older than 94% of compared French towns: half of Oreilla is over 55
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Oreilla 55. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 32%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
43% women, 57% men
About 75 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%.
In Oreilla, 33% of households are couples with children, more than in 88% 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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There are 2.2 people in the average household. Where 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, Oreilla has 33%.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 33%, a higher share than 98% 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
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 99% of compared French towns: 33%. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten 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).
Immigrants: 14%, a higher share than 84% 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.
With foreign nationals at 7.1%, Oreilla is ahead of 70% of compared French towns on that count. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
21% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 83% 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
Here 46% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification: 13%, a lower share than 86% 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
Graduates of higher education: 38% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 28 to 2,582 people, the 6th 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).
Oreilla and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oreilla | 55 | 32% | 70% | 14% |
| Prades 6,148 · 9.6 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 Oreilla
What is the population of Oreilla?
28 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 115% more than in 2012 (13).
How old are Oreilla’s residents?
The median age is 55, older than 94% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Oreilla?
37, with occasional dwellings: 70% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Oreilla?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 14% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (7.1%). 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.