Target sits below 99% of compared French towns for flats (2.6%)
Here 3.7% of households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%. Target had 244 residents in 120 households at the 2023 census. About one in 22: that is how common households headed by a manager or professional are in Target (4.6%). Lower than in 77% of compared French towns: 6.4% of households have no car.
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 Target
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 24 second homes and occasional dwellings in Target, 15% of its 160 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 96% 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
Target had 283 residents at the 2012 census and 244 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Target’s residents are under 51.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 21 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.
A town of second homes: 15% of its 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
One household in 16 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The share of empty homes stands at 13%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A −14% change since 2012: slower than 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −10%, and from 2017 to 2023 −4%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Allier town −1%.
Target is older than 86% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Target 51.1. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Target has 9.9%. By contrast, residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 53% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Below 74% of compared French towns: 20% of households are couples with children
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 2.1 people in the average household. By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 58% of compared French towns: 37% of households are one person living alone.
A typical living standard of €25,420 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.
At €25,420 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 55% of compared French towns.
In Target, 36% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 68% 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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 17% in Target and 14% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 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 95% of compared French towns: 1.7%
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 share of foreign nationals trails 90% of compared French towns: 1.3%. To put it in context, 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.
A lower share of single residents than 88% of compared French towns, at 21%
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 Target, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Graduates of higher education make up 14% in Target, less than in 98% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 51% of compared French towns. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
The 11th oldest of 41 French towns of 244 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).
Target sits below 2 of its 5 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 51.1 | 23% | 15% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 11.3 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 13.7 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Gannat 5,610 · 14.7 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 15 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 16.6 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
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 Target
What is the population of Target?
244 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (283).
How old are Target’s residents?
The median age is 51.1, older than 86% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Target?
24, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Target?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Target?
€25,420 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.