Photo: Leberon19 · CC BY-SA 4.0Ussel ranks above 98% of compared French towns on empty homes: 17%
Single-parent households: 6.1% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census Ussel was home to 9,187 people in 4,520 households. About one in four: that is how common residents aged 65 and over are in Ussel (27%). Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than in four fifths of compared French towns: 5.6%.
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 Ussel
Empty homes
The census found 990 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ussel had 9,791 residents at the 2012 census and 9,187 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −6% since 2012 leaves Ussel behind 91% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Corrèze.
A median age of 48.1: Ussel is older than 75% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ussel 48.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 11%.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Corrèze 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 82% of compared French towns: 44% of households are one person living alone
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
Where a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Ussel has 20%. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
A higher share of second homes than 74% of compared French towns, at 4.5%
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
Here just over a third of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Census figures put households without a car at 15% in Ussel. On households in social housing, Ussel sits higher than 55% of compared French towns: 13%.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,860 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 median standard of living in Ussel is €23,860 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 73% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 16.0%.
In Ussel, 18% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 74% 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
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 35% of households are headed by a retired person here. 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).
Immigrants: 10%, a higher share than 71% 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 median compared commune in Corrèze has 6.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 71% of compared French towns. The share of foreign nationals stands at 7.9%. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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 63% of compared French towns, at 27%
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
Just over two in five residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 82% of compared French towns: 21%
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 adults with no qualification (23%), Ussel is above 69% of compared French towns. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 10th oldest of 41 French towns of 9,019 to 9,356 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 34.9 in Magny-le-Hongre to 63.6 in Sarzeau.
Ussel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ussel | 48.1 | 27% | 4.5% | 10% |
| Égletons 4,341 · 16.4 mi | 38 | 23% | 7.9% | 12% |
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 Ussel
What is the population of Ussel?
9,187 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (9,791).
How old are Ussel’s residents?
The median age is 48.1, older than 75% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ussel?
260, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ussel?
INSEE counts 920 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 720 foreign nationals (7.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ussel?
€23,860 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 4, 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.