Flats make up 2.6% in Murat, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 4.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. The 2023 Census put Murat’s population at 264, in 130 households. On the census count, 5.5% of households rent social housing (HLM). The median age locally is 49.7, higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
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 Murat
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 44 second homes and occasional dwellings in Murat, 22% of its 200 homes: higher than in 94% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Murat had 288 residents at the 2012 census and 264 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 28 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Murat ranks above 94% of compared French towns on second homes: 22%
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
In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in Murat, 14%. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 9.5% moved in during the last two years and 25% have stayed three decades or more. On households without a car, Murat sits lower than 55% of compared French towns: 9.7%.
−8% since 2012: slower than 95% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Allier town −1%. The change was +2% from 2012 to 2017 and −11% from 2017 to 2023.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 6.7% in Murat, less than in 98% 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
■ Murat 49.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Murat has 24%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 7.8% in Murat, less than in 83% 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
One-person households make up 37%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. There are 2.1 people in the average household. At 25%, the share of couples with children is lower than in 53% of compared French towns. The wider picture: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €22,650 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 median standard of living in Murat is €22,650 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
44% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 91% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 manual worker: 11% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 32% 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).
Fewer immigrants than 67% of compared French towns: 4.6%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 3.2% in Murat. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
A higher share of married residents than 54% of compared French towns, at 44%
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
A quarter of residents 15 and over are single, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 90% 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
24% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
The 14th oldest of 41 French towns of 264 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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Murat, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murat | 49.7 | 24% | 22% | 4.6% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 11.4 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 14 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 15.4 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 17 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 17.5 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 17.7 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
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 Murat
What is the population of Murat?
264 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (288).
How old are Murat’s residents?
The median age is 49.7, older than 82% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Murat?
44, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Murat?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.6% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Murat?
€22,650 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.