Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Vallon-en-Sully is over 57.9
In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person; in Vallon-en-Sully, 45%. The town had 1,457 residents in 740 households at the 2023 census. Flats make up about one in 17 here (6%). 16% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 88% 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 Vallon-en-Sully
An older town
Half of Vallon-en-Sully’s residents are under 57.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Vallon-en-Sully had 1,658 residents at the 2012 census and 1,457 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 140 homes empty (15%): 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 change of −12% since 2012 leaves Vallon-en-Sully behind 98% 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 first five years brought −6%; the six to 2023, −7%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Allier town −1%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 97% of compared French towns: 38%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vallon-en-Sully 57.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.9% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
7.4% of households are single parents, fewer than in 86% 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
Just over two in five households are one person living alone (typical compared French town: 35%). For comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.9 people on average.
More empty homes than 96% of compared French towns: 15%
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
Car-free households: one in eight, where the median compared French town has 11%. Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 6.5%, fewer than in 79% of compared French towns. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town. 3.6% of homes are second homes, or about one in 28.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €22,970 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 €22,970 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
Vallon-en-Sully sits below 88% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (4.8%)
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%, below 72% of compared French towns. Against that, 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 83% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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.
Foreign nationals make up 1.4%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
22% of residents 15 and over are single, below 82% 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: 44% of the total. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 92% of compared French towns: 18%
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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 85% of compared French towns: 27%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,457 to 2,582 people: this is the 5th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Vallon-en-Sully
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vallon-en-Sully | 57.9 | 38% | 3.6% | 2.9% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 12.3 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 12.5 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Huriel 2,536 · 12.7 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 4% | 2.5% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 13.5 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 14.2 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 14.9 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 Vallon-en-Sully
What is the population of Vallon-en-Sully?
1,457 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (1,658).
How old are Vallon-en-Sully’s residents?
The median age is 57.9, older than 97% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vallon-en-Sully?
33, with occasional dwellings: 3.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vallon-en-Sully?
INSEE counts 43 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 20 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vallon-en-Sully?
€22,970 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 9, 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.