A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.8%
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Billy comes in at 5.4%. More households headed by a retired person than in 97% of compared French towns: 50%. Its 390 households held 817 residents at the 2023 Census. In Billy, 8% of residents are 15 to 24.
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.
What stands out about the people of Billy
An older town
Half of Billy’s residents are under 51.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 60 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 80% of compared French towns grew faster than Billy: −3%
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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −7%; 2017 to 2023, +5%.
Billy is older than 87% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Billy 51.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 30% of residents are 65 or over in Billy.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Billy sits below 84% of compared French towns for single-parent households (7.6%)
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
Couples with children: 22%, below 65% of compared French towns. There are 2.1 people in the average household. Few places have so few one-person households: 34% here, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Empty homes: 13%, a higher share than 90% 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
Second homes: 4.6%, above three quarters of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 12% of households arrived within the last two years, while 30% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
€25,090 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 Billy’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,090 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 59% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.5%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 20% in Billy. As a reference point, 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).
Only 1.5% of residents are immigrants in Billy
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.
0.9% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% of compared French towns.
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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Billy has 49%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
In Billy, 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Billy comes in at 24%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 817 to 2,582 people: this is the 11th 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).
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Billy
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy | 51.2 | 30% | 4.6% | 1.5% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 1.9 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 5 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 6.2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 6.6 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 7 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 8 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
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 Billy
What is the population of Billy?
817 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (838).
How old are Billy’s residents?
The median age is 51.2, older than 87% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Billy?
22, with occasional dwellings: 4.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Billy?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Billy?
€25,090 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 October 30, 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.