Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Mesples is over 57.5
In Mesples, half of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 99% of compared French towns: 2.8% of homes are flats. The 2023 Census counted 129 residents in 65 households. Roughly two in ten: 21% of households are couples with children.
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 Mesples
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 23 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mesples, 22% of its 110 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 95% 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 Mesples’ residents are under 57.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 18 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
22% of homes in Mesples are second homes
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
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Mesples comes in at 17%. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Households without a car: 9% of the total.
Since 2012, Mesples has changed by −1%, slower than 73% 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
Only 3.8% of residents are 15 to 24 in Mesples
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mesples 57.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 37% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 122 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
36% of households are one person living alone, a share 53% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 2 people on average. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €18,300 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.
Half of residents live in households above €18,300 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 88% of compared French towns, at 21%
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Mesples, 6.8% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 68% 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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 52% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 15: 6.8% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 96% of compared French towns, at 52%
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 Mesples, just over a fifth of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Only 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Mesples
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
Just over a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 129 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Mesples 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesples | 57.5 | 37% | 22% | 6.8% |
| Huriel 2,536 · 7.4 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 4% | 2.5% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 10.1 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 12 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 13 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 13.5 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 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 Mesples
What is the population of Mesples?
129 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (130).
How old are Mesples’ residents?
The median age is 57.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mesples?
23, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mesples?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.8% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (6.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mesples?
€18,300 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 October 30, 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.