Le Brethon is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.3
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 1.1% in Le Brethon. In Le Brethon, 1.8% of households rent social housing (HLM). Few places have so few single-parent households: 2.9% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 324 people lived in the town, in 170 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 Le Brethon
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 78 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Brethon, 27% of its 280 homes: higher than in 95% 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 Le Brethon’s residents are under 58.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Brethon had 347 residents at the 2012 census and 324 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 36 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.
A larger share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns: 27%
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
Empty homes make up 13%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. 7.6% of households moved in less than two years ago; 28% have been in their home 30 years or more. Le Brethon has more households without a car than 53% of compared French towns, at 11%. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
Le Brethon changed by −7% from 2012 to 2023, behind 92% 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
The change was −6% from 2012 to 2017 and ±0% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Allier town −1%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 5.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Brethon 58.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Le Brethon, 33%. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Le Brethon sits below 84% of compared French towns for couples with children (17%)
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
Just over two in five households are one person living alone; in the typical compared French town the figure is 35%. Average household size: 1.9 people. Typically, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
A median of €20,790 a year per consumption unit
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.
Living standards centre on €20,790 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 94% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 44% in Le Brethon, more than in 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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 5.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. The wider picture: nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. About one in eight: that is how common households headed by a manual worker are in Le Brethon (12%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 61% of compared French towns, at 5.2%
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.
Le Brethon has more foreign nationals than 56% of compared French towns, at 4.9%. On average, 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.
More married residents than 95% of compared French towns: 51%
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 Le Brethon, 21% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 79% of compared French towns, at 26%
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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (324 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).
Le Brethon is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Brethon | 58.3 | 33% | 27% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 14.2 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 16.2 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 17.4 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 17.7 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 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 Le Brethon
What is the population of Le Brethon?
324 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (347).
How old are Le Brethon’s residents?
The median age is 58.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Brethon?
78, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Brethon?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.2% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (4.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Brethon?
€20,790 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.