Couples with children make up 18% in Castres, less than in 83% of compared French towns
Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, Castres has 11%. At the 2023 Census, 42,505 people lived here, in 20,830 households. Put another way, about one in four: 27% of residents are 65 or over. 40% of homes are flats, a higher share than in 64% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Tarn 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.
A +2% change since 2012: slower than 60% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved ±0%, and from 2017 to 2023 +2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Tarn town +7%.
Castres ranks above 87% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Castres 46.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Castres is 46.6, higher than in two thirds of compared French towns. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Tarn 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
45% of households are one person living alone, a share 84% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Tarn median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2 people. At 9.8%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 53% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
Households without a car: 18%, a higher share than 79% of compared French towns
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
Some 15% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 20% who have been there 30 years or more. Second homes: 3% of the total. At 12%, the share of households in social housing is higher than in half of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, households without a car come to 11%.
Standard of living at the median: €23,620 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.
Half of Castres’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €23,620 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 76% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 21.1% of residents.
Castres: 37% of households are headed by a retired person, above 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Castres has 7.6%. The wider picture: 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Here, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Castres: 8.9% of residents are immigrants, above 65% 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.
The median compared commune in Tarn has 6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. For Castres, the census puts foreign nationals at 5.8%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Castres: 30% of residents 15 and over are single, above 80% 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 Castres, nearly two in five residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Adults with no qualification make up 23% in Castres, more than in 68% 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
On the census count, 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 39,800 to 45,510 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.
The youngest is Stains (32.4), the oldest Sète (53.6).
Castres is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castres | 46.6 | 27% | 3% | 8.9% |
| Saïx 3,748 · 4.1 mi | 48.5 | 29% | 1.2% | 4.5% |
| Labruguière 6,584 · 5.2 mi | 46 | 25% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Soual 2,637 · 7.2 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.7% | 4.2% |
| Aiguefonde 2,505 · 8.4 mi | 51 | 29% | 3.2% | 5.5% |
| Aussillon 5,527 · 9.3 mi | 53.9 | 36% | 2.9% | 15% |
| Pont-de-Larn 2,947 · 9.6 mi | 50.6 | 27% | 4.9% | 4.8% |
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 Castres
What is the population of Castres?
42,505 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (41,529).
How old are Castres’ residents?
The median age is 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Castres?
720, with occasional dwellings: 3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Castres?
INSEE counts 3,770 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.9% of residents, and 2,450 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Castres?
€23,620 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.1% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 4, 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.