Flats: 1.1%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
40% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. There were 140 households in Meillard at the 2023 Census, home to 303 residents. Locally, 5.1% of households have no car. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 97% of compared French towns: 7.2%.
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 Meillard
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 32 second homes and occasional dwellings in Meillard, 18% of its 180 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 18% in Meillard, more than in 92% 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
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 2.1% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. The census found that 5% of homes stand empty in Meillard.
Slower growth than 64% of compared French towns: Meillard changed by +1% since 2012
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 +6%; from 2017 to 2023, −5%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 24%, a higher share than 64% 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
■ Meillard 44.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Meillard is 44.7, higher than in 55% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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%.
3.6% of households are single parents, fewer than in 99% 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 here average 2.2 people each. Lower than in 63% of compared French towns: 33% of households are one person living alone. For comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The figure for couples with children is 24% in Meillard and 25% in the typical compared French town.
A median of €26,300 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.
The median standard of living in Meillard is €26,300 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 3.6%, a lower share than 95% 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
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Meillard comes in at 17%. The usual figure: nearly one in ten 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).
Only 3% of residents are immigrants in Meillard
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 82% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The share of foreign nationals stands at 3.6%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 18%, a lower share than 98% 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
Married residents: 49%, above 87% of compared French towns. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 69% 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
Census figures put adults with no qualification at 18% in Meillard. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
The 18th youngest of 41 French towns of 303 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.
5 of 6 neighbors are older than Meillard
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meillard | 44.7 | 24% | 18% | 3% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 6.3 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 9.4 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
| Moulins 19,206 · 12.7 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 4.3% | 9.9% |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 13.1 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.4% |
| Avermes 4,074 · 14.3 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 1.4% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 16 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
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 Meillard
What is the population of Meillard?
303 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (299).
How old are Meillard’s residents?
The median age is 44.7, older than 55% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Meillard?
32, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Meillard?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (3.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Meillard?
€26,300 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 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.