A larger share of empty homes than 92% of compared French towns: 13%
4.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Gannat had 5,610 residents in 2,770 households at the 2023 Census. Census figures put couples with children at 16% here. With a median age of 48.6, Gannat is older than 77% 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 Gannat
Empty homes
The census found 440 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, 83% of compared French towns grew faster than Gannat: −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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was ±0%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Allier town −1%.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 80% 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
■ Gannat 48.6. The median compared French town: 44.
At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 52% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 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.
A larger share of one-person households than 86% of compared French towns: 46%
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
Each household has 1.9 people on average. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Just over one in ten households are single parents, more than in 77% of compared French towns.
Gannat ranks above 70% of compared French towns on households without a car: 15%
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, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM); in Gannat, 8.5%. Flats: nearly a quarter of the total. Second homes are more common here than in 61% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town.
€23,390 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.
At €23,390 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 78% of compared French towns. 17.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Households headed by a retired person: 38%, a higher share than 77% 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
Nearly a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). Typically, 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: 3.9%, a lower share than 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.
By its share of foreign nationals (2.6%), Gannat is below 70% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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 married residents than 89% of compared French towns: 35%
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
27% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Gannat sits below 84% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (21%)
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
With adults with no qualification at 27%, Gannat is ahead of 84% of compared French towns on that count. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 5,545 to 5,672
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 Le Port-Marly (37.4), the youngest, and Cancale (57.6), the oldest.
Around Gannat, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gannat | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Aigueperse 2,665 · 5.1 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 9.9 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 11.2 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Abrest 2,915 · 12.1 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 12.1 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 12.6 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
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 Gannat
What is the population of Gannat?
5,610 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (5,806).
How old are Gannat’s residents?
The median age is 48.6, older than 77% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gannat?
97, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gannat?
INSEE counts 220 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 150 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gannat?
€23,390 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.