1.1% of homes are flats, below 99% of compared French towns
Couples with children: 30%, above 75% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 116 residents in 51 households. In Virargues, 3.8% of households have no car. With a median age of 49.8, Virargues is older than just over four fifths 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 Virargues
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 27 second homes and occasional dwellings in Virargues, 29% of its 92 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Virargues had 135 residents at the 2012 census and 116 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 14 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Virargues ranks above 95% of compared French towns on second homes: 29%
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
1.9% of households arrived within the last two years, while 38% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Virargues comes in at 15%.
Since 2012, Virargues has changed by −14%, slower than 99% 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 first five years brought −1%; the six to 2023, −13%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cantal town −3%.
Below 98% of compared French towns: 6.7% 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
■ Virargues 49.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 28%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 80 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 77% of compared French towns, at 30%
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
There are 2.3 people in the average household. The usual figure: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Fewer single-parent households than in 50% of compared French towns: 10%.
The median resident lives on €20,230 a year per consumption unit
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.
Half of Virargues’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,230 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 96% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 40% in Virargues, more than in 83% of compared French towns
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 manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 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).
A lower share of foreign nationals than 96% of compared French towns, at 0.8%
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.
Immigrants are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
More married residents than 57% of compared French towns: 44%
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
About one in four: that is how common single residents are in Virargues (24%). The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 92% of compared French towns: 30%
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
By its share of graduates of higher education (20%), Virargues is below 84% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 116 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Virargues 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virargues | 49.8 | 28% | 29% | 0% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 10.6 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 Virargues
What is the population of Virargues?
116 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (135).
How old are Virargues’ residents?
The median age is 49.8, older than 82% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Virargues?
27, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Virargues?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Virargues?
€20,230 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.