A median age of 60.8: Ally is older than 98% of compared French towns
Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Ally has 5.4%. 3% of households rent social housing (HLM), a lower share than in 94% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 594 people lived in the town, in 280 households. Empty homes account for 11%.
Throughout this page, the Cantal 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 Ally
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 130 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ally, 27% of its 460 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 98% 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 Ally’s residents are under 60.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ally had 643 residents at the 2012 census and 594 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
27% of homes are second homes, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Ally has 6.1%. Few places have as many households without a car: 12% here, more than in 56% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Ally changed by −8% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 94% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −6%; 2017 to 2023, −2%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Cantal town −3%.
Ally ranks above 98% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 41%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ally 60.8. The median compared French town: 44.
5.3% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer couples with children than 78% of compared French towns: 19%
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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
One-person households: 39% here and 35% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,630 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 midpoint of living standards here is €23,630 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 76% of compared French towns.
Ally ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 50%
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Ally, 11%. Against that, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. The census found that 6.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 1.5% in Ally, less than in 96% 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.
With foreign nationals at 1.2%, Ally is behind 90% of compared French towns on that count. 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.
19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 95% 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 people make up 44% and PACS partners 5.3%, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 17% are widowed. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Ally ranks below 93% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 17%
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 Ally, 28% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
41 French towns of 594 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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).
Ally and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ally | 60.8 | 41% | 27% | 1.5% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 3.5 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
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 Ally
What is the population of Ally?
594 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (643).
How old are Ally’s residents?
The median age is 60.8, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ally?
130, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ally?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ally?
€23,630 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.