In Arnac, 49% of homes are second homes, more than in 97% of compared French towns
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in 19 here (5.3%). The share of empty homes is 3.4%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
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 Arnac
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arnac, 49% of its 200 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 91% 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 Arnac’s residents are under 53.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Arnac’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.1%
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 12, where the median compared French town has 11%. On flats, Arnac sits lower than 93% of compared French towns: 6.5%. Households without a car: 8.5% of the total.
From 2012 to 2023, Arnac outgrew 74% of compared French towns: +12%
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 Cantal town −3%. The change was +10% from 2012 to 2017 and +2% from 2017 to 2023.
Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Arnac is over 53.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Arnac 53.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 33% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 82 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 15% in Arnac, less than in 91% 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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.8 people. Few places have as many one-person households: 50% here, more than in 94% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. Where one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Arnac has 5%.
€24,100 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €24,100 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
40% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 83% 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
Locally, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. For comparison, nearly a third 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).
In Arnac, 1.8% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 94% 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.
The median compared commune in Cantal has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 94% of compared French towns. About one in 56: that is how common foreign nationals are in Arnac (1.8%). For comparison, 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.
Arnac sits below 77% of compared French towns for single residents (22%)
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
45% of residents 15 and over are married and 1.3% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 9.2% are widowed. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
A lower share of adults with no qualification than 88% of compared French towns, at 12%
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 figure for graduates of higher education is 26% in Arnac and 30% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 174 to 2,582 people, the 7th 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).
Nearby, 2 of 5 towns have older populations than Arnac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnac | 53.8 | 33% | 49% | 1.8% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 12 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
| Ytrac 4,339 · 12.3 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Aurillac 26,214 · 13.9 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 4.6% | 6.7% |
| Argentat-sur-Dordogne 2,881 · 14.7 mi | 58 | 39% | 17% | 5.5% |
| Arpajon-sur-Cère 6,361 · 15.9 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 4.4% | 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 Arnac
What is the population of Arnac?
174 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (156).
How old are Arnac’s residents?
The median age is 53.8, older than 92% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arnac?
100, with occasional dwellings: 49% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arnac?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arnac?
€24,100 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.