More second homes than 98% of compared French towns: 54%
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Paulhenc had 256 residents in 77 households at the 2023 census. On the census count, 5.8% of residents are 15 to 24. Here 14% of households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%.
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 Paulhenc
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Paulhenc, 54% of its 190 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 95% 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 Paulhenc’s residents are under 52.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Paulhenc ranks below 97% of compared French towns on flats: 4.2%
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
With households without a car at 7.9%, Paulhenc is behind two thirds of compared French towns on that count. Put another way, about one in 16: 6.1% of homes stand empty. The usual figure: 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Paulhenc has changed by +4%, slower than 53% 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
In two steps, +2% to 2017 and +2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −3% in Cantal.
Half of Paulhenc is over 52.4, older than 90% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Paulhenc 52.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 32%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
Paulhenc ranks above 93% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 14%
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
By its share of one-person households (29%), Paulhenc is below 83% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €18,990 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 €18,990 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 98% of compared French towns.
36% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 68% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 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).
Below 77% of compared French towns: 3.6% of residents are immigrants
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 is 3.2%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. 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.
A larger share of single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 45%
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
With married residents at 30%, Paulhenc is behind 98% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns: 14%
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 99% of compared French towns: 43%. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 256 to 2,582
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).
Paulhenc is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulhenc | 52.4 | 32% | 54% | 3.6% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 16.7 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 5.3% | 4.7% |
| Arpajon-sur-Cère 6,361 · 17.3 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 Paulhenc
What is the population of Paulhenc?
256 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (246).
How old are Paulhenc’s residents?
The median age is 52.4, older than 90% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Paulhenc?
100, with occasional dwellings: 54% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Paulhenc?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Paulhenc?
€18,990 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.