A median age of 54: Le Vilhain is older than 93% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Flats account for 2.3%. In 2023, the Census found 266 residents in Le Vilhain, living in 130 households. The share of households headed by a manual worker trails 89% of compared French towns: 7.4%.
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 Vilhain
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 24 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Vilhain, 14% of its 180 homes: higher than in 90% 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 Vilhain’s residents are under 54 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 23 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.
Second homes make up 14% in Le Vilhain, more than in 90% 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
Car-free households: one in 13, where the median compared French town has 11%. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 7.7%. Empty homes are more common here than in 91% of compared French towns.
Le Vilhain changed by +3% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 57% 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 +7% from 2012 to 2017 and −3% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Allier town −1%.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 29% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Vilhain 54. The median compared French town: 44.
8.6% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
22% of households are couples with children, below 64% 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
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here. Households here average 2.1 people each. Just over one in ten households are single parents, a higher share than in 66% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A median of €21,520 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €21,520 a year: lower than in 91% of compared French towns.
Le Vilhain ranks below 66% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 30%
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: 11% here and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 61% of compared French towns: 5.3%
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.
Foreign nationals: 4.9% of the total. As a yardstick, 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: 22%, a lower share than 79% 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 typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Le Vilhain has 46%. Elsewhere, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 83% of compared French towns: 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
Put another way, about one in six: 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 266 to 2,582 people
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.
Of the 2 towns nearest Le Vilhain, 1 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Vilhain | 54 | 29% | 14% | 5.3% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 16.6 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 17.8 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
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 Vilhain
What is the population of Le Vilhain?
266 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (258).
How old are Le Vilhain’s residents?
The median age is 54, older than 93% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Vilhain?
24, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Vilhain?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (4.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Vilhain?
€21,520 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.