Only 10% of households are couples with children in Ainay-le-Vieil
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 here. In 2023, the Census found 189 residents in Ainay-le-Vieil, living in 99 households. For Ainay-le-Vieil, the census puts flats at 0.7%. Fewer households in social housing than in 80% of compared French towns: 6.2%.
Throughout this page, the Cher 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 Ainay-le-Vieil
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 27 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ainay-le-Vieil, 18% of its 150 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ainay-le-Vieil had 215 residents at the 2012 census and 189 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 21 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 18%, a higher share than 93% of compared French towns
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
The share of empty homes tops 94% of compared French towns: 14%. At the same time, 5.2% of households have no car, a lower share than in 87% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households that moved in under two years ago: 7.3%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 24%.
A −12% change since 2012: slower than 98% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −13%, and from 2017 to 2023 +2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cher town −4%.
Older than 74% of compared French towns: half of Ainay-le-Vieil is over 47.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ainay-le-Vieil 47.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over in Ainay-le-Vieil.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Ainay-le-Vieil: 15% of households are single parents, above 95% 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 Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 1.9 people share a household. Few places have as many one-person households: 45% here, more than in 84% of compared French towns. The benchmark for single-parent households in the typical compared French town: 10%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,810 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,810 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a manual worker than 83% of compared French towns: 20%
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
With households headed by a manager or professional at 15%, Ainay-le-Vieil is ahead of 76% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 30% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.7% of residents are immigrants, below 85% 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 share of foreign nationals is 2.2%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. On average, 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 higher share of single residents than 76% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
Married residents: 41% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Ainay-le-Vieil, 21% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 83% 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
In Ainay-le-Vieil, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 189 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).
Every neighbor is older than Ainay-le-Vieil
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainay-le-Vieil | 47.8 | 23% | 18% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 4.7 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 15.3 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
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 Ainay-le-Vieil
What is the population of Ainay-le-Vieil?
189 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (215).
How old are Ainay-le-Vieil’s residents?
The median age is 47.8, older than 74% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ainay-le-Vieil?
27, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ainay-le-Vieil?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ainay-le-Vieil?
€22,810 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 9, 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.