A median age of 55.8: Dontreix is older than 95% of compared French towns
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 57% in Dontreix. The 2023 Census counted 400 residents in 210 households. For Dontreix, the census puts households in social housing at 1.9%. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 0.3%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Creuse 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 Dontreix
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 74 second homes and occasional dwellings in Dontreix, 20% of its 370 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 96% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Dontreix’s residents are under 55.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 83 homes empty (23%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 23%
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
Of all households, 5.3% moved in during the last two years and 35% have stayed three decades or more. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty. On second homes, Dontreix sits higher than 93% of compared French towns: 20%. Meanwhile, the share of households without a car trails just over two thirds of compared French towns: 7.8%.
From 2012 to 2023, 62% of compared French towns grew faster than Dontreix: +2%
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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Creuse town −5%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +6%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%.
Only 7.2% of residents are 15 to 24 in Dontreix
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dontreix 55.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 31% in Dontreix. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 79% of compared French towns, at 19%
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 Creuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
Here 12% of households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%. 40% of households are one person living alone. Couples with children: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €24,460 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 Dontreix is €24,460 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manual worker than 97% of compared French towns: 4.8%
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. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Dontreix sits below 66% of compared French towns for immigrants (4.8%)
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.
Foreign nationals: 5% of the total. Measured more widely, 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 smaller share of single residents than 69% of compared French towns: 23%
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
Here, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Graduates of higher education: 22%, a lower share than 81% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Dontreix. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (400 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Dontreix 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dontreix | 55.8 | 31% | 20% | 4.8% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 17.7 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.5% | 6.6% |
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 Dontreix
What is the population of Dontreix?
400 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (393).
How old are Dontreix’s residents?
The median age is 55.8, older than 95% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dontreix?
74, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dontreix?
INSEE counts 19 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.8% of residents, and 20 foreign nationals (5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dontreix?
€24,460 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 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.