A median age of 58.1: Pierrefort is older than 97% of compared French towns
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 3.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. There were 400 households in Pierrefort at the 2023 Census, home to 868 residents. Locally, 6.2% of households are single parents. 3.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 92% 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 Pierrefort
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Pierrefort, 16% of its 630 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 90% 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 Pierrefort’s residents are under 58.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 130 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Pierrefort had 909 residents at the 2012 census and 868 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Pierrefort ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 20%
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
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Pierrefort. For Pierrefort, the census puts second homes at 16%. Few places have so few flats: 22% here, fewer than in 64% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 86% 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
Over those years, the median Cantal town changed −3% and the median compared French town +5%.
Pierrefort sits above 98% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (40%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Pierrefort 58.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Pierrefort has 6.5%. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Only 20% of households are couples with children in Pierrefort
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
Households average 2 people. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town. On one-person households, Pierrefort sits higher than 69% of compared French towns: 40%.
€25,360 a year: the median standard of living
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 €25,360 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 56% of compared French towns.
Pierrefort ranks above 84% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 40%
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
Across Pierrefort, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. 3.9% of the town’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 40% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 95% 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.
In Pierrefort, 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Cantal has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 38% in Pierrefort, less than in 79% 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
27% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 93% of compared French towns
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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school have no qualification in Pierrefort.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 868 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).
Pierrefort 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierrefort | 58.1 | 40% | 16% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 14.3 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 Pierrefort
What is the population of Pierrefort?
868 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (909).
How old are Pierrefort’s residents?
The median age is 58.1, older than 97% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Pierrefort?
100, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Pierrefort?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Pierrefort?
€25,360 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 8, 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.