Above 99% of compared French towns: 18% of homes stand empty
The share of flats trails 96% of compared French towns: 4.8%. Blet is home to 566 residents in 260 households, by the 2023 Census. Single-parent households account for 3.9%. Few places have so few households in social housing: 2.7% here, fewer than in 95% of compared French towns.
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 Blet
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 63 second homes and occasional dwellings in Blet, 16% of its 390 homes: higher than in 92% 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
Blet had 652 residents at the 2012 census and 566 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 72 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
16% of homes are second homes, more than in 92% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 25% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 7% (under two years). For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Just over one in ten households have no car, more than in 55% of compared French towns.
Slower than most: −13% since 2012, behind 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
Here the change came as −12% to 2017, then −2% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −4% in Cher.
Blet ranks below 88% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Blet 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.8, Blet is older than 68% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over, or about one in four.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Blet ranks above 63% of compared French towns on one-person households: 38%
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
The typical household size is 2.2 people. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%. A quarter of households are couples with children, or about one in four.
Median standard of living: €22,100 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,100 a year: lower than in 88% of compared French towns.
Blet sits above 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (33%)
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
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 5.8% in Blet. Meanwhile, the town has more households headed by a retired person than 51% of compared French towns, at 33%. To put it in context, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 89% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Blet has 2.3%. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 19% in Blet, less than in 95% 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
41% of residents 15 and over are married and 4.8% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 12% are widowed. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 96% 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
31% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 566 to 2,582 people: this is the 18th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
4 of 5 neighbors are older than Blet
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blet | 46.8 | 26% | 16% | 2.3% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 7.8 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
| Sancoins 2,951 · 9.8 mi | 57.4 | 36% | 5.9% | 2% |
| Avord 2,909 · 11 mi | 32.5 | 11% | 0.9% | 3.7% |
| La Guerche-sur-l'Aubois 3,151 · 11.1 mi | 51.2 | 32% | 6.8% | 1.9% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 15.5 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
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 Blet
What is the population of Blet?
566 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (652).
How old are Blet’s residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Blet?
63, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Blet?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Blet?
€22,100 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 October 30, 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.