41% of homes are second homes, more than in 96% of compared French towns
5.9% of homes are flats, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Monestier-Merlines has fewer households in social housing than 97% of compared French towns, at 2%. Households headed by a manual worker account for 20%.
Throughout this page, the Corrèze 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 Monestier-Merlines
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 75 second homes and occasional dwellings in Monestier-Merlines, 41% of its 180 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 97% 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
Monestier-Merlines had 317 residents at the 2012 census and 302 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 7.1% of households have no car in Monestier-Merlines
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
Without a car: one household in 14, against 11% in the median compared French town. The share of empty homes stands at 6.5%.
Slower growth than 87% of compared French towns: Monestier-Merlines changed by −5% since 2012
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 −6%, and from 2017 to 2023 +1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Corrèze town −1%.
Monestier-Merlines sits below 90% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8.3%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Monestier-Merlines 43. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43, Monestier-Merlines is younger than 58% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. In Monestier-Merlines, 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 77 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Corrèze 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 5%, a lower share than 99% 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 Corrèze median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.2 people in the average household. At 40%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 69% of compared French towns. On average, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Monestier-Merlines sits close to the norm on couples with children: 25%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
€26,040 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €26,040 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 51% of compared French towns.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 30% of households are headed by a retired person
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. The wider picture: nearly a third 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).
Only 2.8% of residents are foreign nationals in Monestier-Merlines
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 make up a share lower than in 59% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Corrèze has 6.1%. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. In Monestier-Merlines, 5.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Monestier-Merlines ranks below 98% of compared French towns on married residents: 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
By its share of single residents (37%), Monestier-Merlines is above 95% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
Above 93% of compared French towns: 31% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
With graduates of higher education at 25%, Monestier-Merlines is behind just over two thirds of compared French towns on that count. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 12th youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Monestier-Merlines 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monestier-Merlines | 43 | 17% | 41% | 5.5% |
| Ussel 9,187 · 11.2 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 4.5% | 10% |
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 Monestier-Merlines
What is the population of Monestier-Merlines?
302 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (317).
How old are Monestier-Merlines’ residents?
The median age is 43, younger than 58% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Monestier-Merlines?
75, with occasional dwellings: 41% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Monestier-Merlines?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.5% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Monestier-Merlines?
€26,040 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.