Half of Ferrières-sur-Sichon is over 56.4, older than 95% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 496 people lived in Ferrières-sur-Sichon, in 260 households. 5.9% of households are single parents, or about one in 17. Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of flats in Ferrières-sur-Sichon comes in at 3%.
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 Ferrières-sur-Sichon
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ferrières-sur-Sichon, 25% of its 430 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 94% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ferrières-sur-Sichon had 569 residents at the 2012 census and 496 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Ferrières-sur-Sichon’s residents are under 56.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 64 homes empty (15%): 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: 25%, a higher share than 94% 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
Households without a car make up 7.8%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 95% of compared French towns: 15% of homes stand empty. Elsewhere, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Ferrières-sur-Sichon changed by −13% from 2012 to 2023, behind 99% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −3%, then −10% to 2023. Over those years, the median Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%.
Ferrières-sur-Sichon ranks above 93% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 34%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ferrières-sur-Sichon 56.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.7%, Ferrières-sur-Sichon is behind 95% of compared French towns on that count. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
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%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 89% of compared French towns: 16%
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 Ferrières-sur-Sichon, 39% of households are one person living alone, beside 35% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Each household has 1.9 people on average.
A typical living standard of €23,300 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 median standard of living in Ferrières-sur-Sichon is €23,300 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
Ferrières-sur-Sichon ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 49%
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 share of households headed by a manual worker is 24%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional account for 5.9%. To put it in context, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 5.6% of Ferrières-sur-Sichon’s residents
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 57% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%. Foreign nationals make up about one in 19 here (5.2%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 72% of compared French towns: 23%
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 Ferrières-sur-Sichon, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 61% of compared French towns: 27%
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
Adults with no qualification: nearly a fifth of the total. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (496 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Ferrières-sur-Sichon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrières-sur-Sichon | 56.4 | 34% | 25% | 5.6% |
| Puy-Guillaume 2,630 · 8.9 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 2.7% | 4% |
| Saint-Yorre 2,641 · 8.9 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
| Abrest 2,915 · 10.6 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 11.8 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 12.6 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Thiers 11,637 · 12.7 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 3.8% | 11% |
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 Ferrières-sur-Sichon
What is the population of Ferrières-sur-Sichon?
496 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (569).
How old are Ferrières-sur-Sichon’s residents?
The median age is 56.4, older than 95% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ferrières-sur-Sichon?
110, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ferrières-sur-Sichon?
INSEE counts 28 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.6% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (5.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ferrières-sur-Sichon?
€23,300 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 9, 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.