Flats: 2.4%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
The share of households headed by a retired person is 40%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Celles had 217 residents in 100 households at the 2023 Census. Across Celles, 8% of households have no car. With a median age of 50.4, Celles is older than 84% of compared French towns.
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 Celles
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 35 second homes and occasional dwellings in Celles, 21% of its 170 homes: higher than in 93% 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 ↓
Empty homes
The census found 31 homes empty (19%): 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 larger share of empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 19%
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 13 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Second homes: 21% of the total. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty.
Below 91% of compared French towns: 8.2% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Celles 50.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 25%, Celles is ahead of 67% of compared French towns on that count. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
100 households; 35% are one person
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
The average household has 2.1 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. A quarter of households are couples with children, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 86% of compared French towns: 5%
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 share of households headed by a manual worker is 20%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 9.4% of 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 lower share of immigrants than 97% of compared French towns, at 1.4%
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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.
Celles ranks above 72% of compared French towns on single residents: 28%
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
44% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Only 14% of adults out of school have no qualification in Celles
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 graduates of higher education is 36%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (217 to 2,582 people), the 13th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Celles 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celles | 50.4 | 25% | 21% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 8.6 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 5.3% | 4.7% |
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 Celles
What is the population of Celles?
217 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (224).
How old are Celles’ residents?
The median age is 50.4, older than 84% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Celles?
35, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Celles?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.