Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of Le Donjon is over 59.8
Single-parent households: 6.1% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. Here, half of households are headed by a retired person. On second homes, Le Donjon sits higher than 87% of compared French towns: 9.4%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 1,007, in 490 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 Donjon
An older town
Half of Le Donjon’s residents are under 59.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 17% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 140 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Donjon had 1,084 residents at the 2012 census and 1,007 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −7% since 2012 leaves Le Donjon behind 93% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Allier town, the change came in two steps: −1% from 2012 to 2017, then −6% to 2023.
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 42%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Donjon 59.8. The median compared French town: 44.
6.8% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
15% of households are couples with children, below 90% 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
Households average 1.9 people. The usual figure: 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. More one-person households than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 43%.
Le Donjon ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 20%
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 in social housing make up 10%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. On top of that, 16% of homes are flats, a lower share than in 76% of compared French towns. Empty homes: 6.7% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up nearly one in ten households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 27%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,390 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 €22,390 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 2%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 16% in Le Donjon. 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 80% of compared French towns, at 3.2%
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.
The median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in four fifths of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Across Le Donjon, 2.1% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 72% of compared French towns: 46% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of residents 15 and over are single here. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In Le Donjon, 12% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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
Adults with no qualification: 40%, above 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 4th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Le Donjon 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 Donjon | 59.8 | 42% | 9.4% | 3.2% |
| Lapalisse 3,138 · 10.1 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 3% | 4.5% |
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre 2,959 · 13 mi | 54.3 | 34% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Digoin 7,353 · 13.7 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 1.9% | 15% |
| Paray-le-Monial 9,291 · 16.9 mi | 54.2 | 36% | 3.4% | 7.2% |
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 Donjon
What is the population of Le Donjon?
1,007 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (1,084).
How old are Le Donjon’s residents?
The median age is 59.8, older than 98% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Donjon?
65, with occasional dwellings: 9.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Donjon?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 21 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Donjon?
€22,390 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.