Mainsat is older than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 59.8
Single-parent households: 5.9% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few households headed by a manager or professional: 2% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. There were 250 households in Mainsat at the 2023 Census, home to 540 residents. The share of households in social housing stands at 5.4%.
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 Mainsat
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mainsat, 24% of its 500 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 84% 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 Mainsat’s residents are under 59.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 17% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Mainsat had 599 residents at the 2012 census and 540 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 130 homes empty (26%): 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 higher share of empty homes than 99% of compared French towns, at 26%
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
36% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 7.7% moved in within the last two years. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few flats: 3.4% here, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. At the same time, the share of second homes is 24%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
A change of −10% since 2012 leaves Mainsat behind 97% 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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Creuse town −5%. The change was −6% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over: 41%, a higher share than 98% 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
■ Mainsat 59.8. The median compared French town: 44.
7% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children make up 18% in Mainsat, less than in 83% 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 Creuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for one-person households is 43% in Mainsat and 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 1.9 people share a household. As a reference point, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €19,730 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 €19,730 a year: lower than in 97% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 93% of compared French towns: 45%
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Mainsat, 20%. The usual figure: 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).
Foreign nationals: 6.3%, a higher share than 66% 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.
That is higher than in 55% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Put another way, about one in 14: 7.2% 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.
37% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 83% 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
Compared with other places, single residents are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 91% of compared French towns, at 18%
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
Adults with no qualification: 29%, above 89% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
The 4th oldest of 41 French towns of 540 to 2,582 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Mainsat 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainsat | 59.8 | 41% | 24% | 7.2% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 12.3 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 Mainsat
What is the population of Mainsat?
540 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (599).
How old are Mainsat’s residents?
The median age is 59.8, older than 98% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mainsat?
120, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mainsat?
INSEE counts 39 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.2% of residents, and 34 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mainsat?
€19,730 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.