Older than 94% of compared French towns: half of Les Mars is over 54.9
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Here, 1.2% of homes are flats. Les Mars had 180 residents in 96 households at the 2023 census. The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 30% in Les Mars and 14% in the typical compared French town.
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 Les Mars
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 57 second homes and occasional dwellings in Les Mars, 33% of its 170 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Les Mars’ residents are under 54.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Les Mars had 196 residents at the 2012 census and 180 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Les Mars’ households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Les Mars: 33% of homes are second homes, above 95% 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
7.1% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Locally, 9.6% of homes stand empty.
Since 2012, Les Mars has changed by −8%, slower than 95% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Creuse town −5%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −1%; 2017 to 2023, −8%.
Les Mars sits below 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (3.8%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Mars 54.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Les Mars has 37%. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 94% of compared French towns: 50%
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
The share of couples with children trails nearly three quarters of compared French towns: 20%. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Census figures put single-parent households at 5% in Les Mars.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,770 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 €22,770 a year: lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
Above 97% of compared French towns: 50% 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. By way of comparison, 32% 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).
In Les Mars, 3.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 79% 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.
In Les Mars, 3.8% of residents are foreign nationals. For comparison, 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.
Fewer single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 16%
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, just over half of residents 15 and over are married in Les Mars. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Below 85% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Les Mars, 24%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 180 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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).
Les Mars 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Mars | 54.9 | 37% | 33% | 3.3% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 15 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 Les Mars
What is the population of Les Mars?
180 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (196).
How old are Les Mars’ residents?
The median age is 54.9, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Mars?
57, with occasional dwellings: 33% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Mars?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (3.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Mars?
€22,770 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.