13% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns
Residents aged 15 to 24: 14%, above 93% of compared French towns. Households without a car account for 25%. Higher than in 79% of compared French towns: 38% of households are headed by a retired person. Montluçon had 33,147 residents in 17,590 households at the 2023 census.
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 Montluçon
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montluçon had 38,072 residents at the 2012 census and 33,147 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
55% of Montluçon’s households are one person: higher than in 98% of compared French towns; 46% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 5,800 homes empty (24%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−13% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Allier. Here the change came as −6% to 2017, then −7% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 28% in Montluçon, more than in 79% 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
■ Montluçon 46.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Montluçon is 46.9, higher than in 68% of compared French towns. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Montluçon sits above 98% of compared French towns for one-person households (55%)
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
There are 1.8 people in the average household. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 10%, fewer than in just over half of compared French towns.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 24%
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 that moved in under two years ago: 15%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 18%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. More flats than in just over four fifths of compared French towns: 58%. Add to that, the figure for households in social housing is 19% in Montluçon and 12% in the typical compared French town.
€21,980 a year: the median standard of living
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 €21,980 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 88% of compared French towns. 25.9% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
Montluçon ranks below 75% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 6.2%
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
Few places have so few households headed by a manual worker: 14% here, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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).
Montluçon: 11% of residents are immigrants, above 73% 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.
7.8% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 32%, a lower share than 96% 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
Single residents: 34%, above 91% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Montluçon ranks below 79% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 22%
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
In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Montluçon, 25%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 3rd 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.
The youngest is Trappes (32.7), the oldest Aix-les-Bains (48.5).
No nearby town is as young as Montluçon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montluçon | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 1.6 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 2.3 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 2.8 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Huriel 2,536 · 5.7 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 4% | 2.5% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 7.9 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 16.6 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
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 Montluçon
What is the population of Montluçon?
33,147 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (38,072).
How old are Montluçon’s residents?
The median age is 46.9, older than 68% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montluçon?
740, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montluçon?
INSEE counts 3,550 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 2,590 foreign nationals (7.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montluçon?
€21,980 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.9% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.