Abrest ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 4.9%
In the typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; Abrest has 7.2%. 4.8% of households rent social housing (HLM), or about one in 21. Higher than in 73% of compared French towns: 37% of households are headed by a retired person. The 2023 Census counted 2,915 residents in 1,340 households.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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.
Abrest changed by +4% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 52% 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, −1% in Allier.
In Abrest, 8.7% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Abrest 46.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Abrest’s residents are over 46.6, older than in two thirds of compared French towns. Residents aged 65 and over: nearly a quarter of the total.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Above 66% of compared French towns: 28% of households are couples with children
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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.2 people each. Lower than in 58% of compared French towns: 34% of households are one person living alone. Set beside that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
5.3% of households have no car, below 85% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 9.3% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 23%. For comparison, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. Abrest has more empty homes than 77% of compared French towns, at 9.6%. Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 1.7%.
The median resident lives on €26,160 a year per consumption unit
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 €26,160 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 52% of compared French towns. 12.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 6.7% in Abrest, less than in 70% 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 figure for households headed by a manual worker is 17% in Abrest and 14% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.3% of residents are foreign nationals, below 74% 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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Abrest comes in at 4.5%. Immigrants make up a share lower than in just over two thirds of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Fewer single residents than 89% of compared French towns: 20%
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 44% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
27% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 63% 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
For Abrest, the census puts adults with no qualification at 18%. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
The 20th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,890 to 2,941 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 32.5 in Avord to 60.3 in Batz-sur-Mer.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 5 are older than Abrest
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abrest | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Saint-Yorre 2,641 · 2.2 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 2.4 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 2.6 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 2.7 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 4.2 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 7.3 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
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 Abrest
What is the population of Abrest?
2,915 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (2,794).
How old are Abrest’s residents?
The median age is 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Abrest?
26, with occasional dwellings: 1.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Abrest?
INSEE counts 130 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 68 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Abrest?
€26,160 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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.