In Colombier, 1% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person; in Colombier, 43%. This Allier town is home to 327 residents in 150 households, by the 2023 Census. Across Colombier, 2% of households rent social housing (HLM). The median age locally is 50.5, higher than in 84% of compared French towns.
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 Colombier
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 28 second homes and occasional dwellings in Colombier, 14% of its 200 homes: higher than in 90% 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 ↓
Empty homes
The census found 26 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.
Second homes: 14%, 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
In the typical compared French town, 11% of households have no car; in Colombier, 4.7%. Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The census found that 13% of homes stand empty in the town.
A change of +1% since 2012 leaves Colombier behind 67% 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
Here the change came as +2% to 2017, then −2% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Allier.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 88% of compared French towns, at 31%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Colombier 50.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in Colombier. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 60% of compared French towns: 33%
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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 27% of households are couples with children. Typically, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €25,080 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 Colombier’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,080 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 59% of compared French towns.
Only 3.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Colombier
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 Colombier, 23% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 9.4% of 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).
Colombier sits below 93% of compared French towns for immigrants (1.8%)
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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Colombier has 0.3%. As a yardstick, 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.
Fewer single residents than 94% of compared French towns: 19%
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
The share of married residents is 41%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Against that, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 23% in Colombier, less than in 75% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 24% in Colombier. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
13th highest median age among 41 French towns of 327 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Colombier and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombier | 50.5 | 31% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 2.5 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 7.7 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 10 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 10.4 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 11.8 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 13.3 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
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 Colombier
What is the population of Colombier?
327 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (325).
How old are Colombier’s residents?
The median age is 50.5, older than 84% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Colombier?
28, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Colombier?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Colombier?
€25,080 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 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.