Échassières is older than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 59.5
The share of households headed by a retired person tops 96% of compared French towns: 48%. Flats make up about one in 59 here (1.7%). Échassières has fewer households without a car than 79% of compared French towns, at 6.2%. The 2023 Census counted 364 residents in 160 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.
What stands out about the people of Échassières
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 66 second homes and occasional dwellings in Échassières, 25% of its 270 homes: higher than in 94% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Échassières’ residents are under 59.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Échassières had 396 residents at the 2012 census and 364 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 94% of compared French towns, at 25%
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
Here 16% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. 6.2% of households rent social housing (HLM). The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, 95% of compared French towns grew faster than Échassières: −8%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Allier town, the change came in two steps: −3% from 2012 to 2017, then −5% to 2023.
Échassières sits above 98% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (41%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Échassières 59.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 4.5% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children make up 18% in Échassières, less than in 82% 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Échassières has 12%. The wider picture: 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Locally, two in five households are one person living alone.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €21,700 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €21,700 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
6.5% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 92% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional come to 10% in Échassières, about one in ten. Measured more widely, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 79% of compared French towns: 3.3%
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 1.6%, Échassières is behind 85% of compared French towns on that count. Typically, 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.
Single residents make up 20% in Échassières, less than in 93% 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 the median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 41% and 1.9%, and 17% are widowed. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 76% of compared French towns: 25%
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
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 364 to 2,582 people, the 4th 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).
No nearby town is as old as Échassières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Échassières | 59.5 | 41% | 25% | 3.3% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 5.3 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 11.3 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Gannat 5,610 · 14 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Aigueperse 2,665 · 17.4 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
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 Échassières
What is the population of Échassières?
364 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (396).
How old are Échassières’ residents?
The median age is 59.5, older than 98% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Échassières?
66, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Échassières?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Échassières?
€21,700 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.