Mérinchal is older than 96% of compared French towns: a median age of 56.9
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 6.2% of homes are flats here. Put another way, about one in eight: 13% of households are couples with children. On households headed by a manager or professional, Mérinchal sits lower than 99% of compared French towns: 1.4%. The town’s 350 households held 654 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 Mérinchal
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 150 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mérinchal, 26% of its 570 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 95% 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 Mérinchal’s residents are under 56.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Mérinchal had 737 residents at the 2012 census and 654 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 71 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
26% of homes are second homes, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
One household in 12 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing make up about one in 16 here (6.2%). Empty homes are more common here than in 90% of compared French towns.
Slower than most: −11% since 2012, behind 98% 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 change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and −9% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Creuse town −5%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 94% of compared French towns: 35%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mérinchal 56.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.1%, below 92% of compared French towns. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
One-person households make up 44% in Mérinchal, more than in 82% 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
On average, 1.9 people share a household. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. 10% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns.
€23,290 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.
Living standards centre on €23,290 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
21% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 88% of compared French towns don’t reach
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, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Mérinchal has 38%. By way of comparison, 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).
Mérinchal sits above 62% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (5.7%)
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 higher than in 52% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%. The benchmark for foreign nationals in the typical compared French town: 4.3%. About one in 15: that is how common immigrants are in Mérinchal (6.8%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 41% of residents 15 and over are married
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
26% of residents 15 and over are single, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 90% of compared French towns: 19%
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
More adults with no qualification than in 52% of compared French towns: 19%. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (654 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Mérinchal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mérinchal | 56.9 | 35% | 26% | 6.8% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 15.5 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 Mérinchal
What is the population of Mérinchal?
654 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (737).
How old are Mérinchal’s residents?
The median age is 56.9, older than 96% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mérinchal?
150, with occasional dwellings: 26% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mérinchal?
INSEE counts 44 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.8% of residents, and 37 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mérinchal?
€23,290 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.