More second homes than 92% of compared French towns: 16%
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For Irais, the census puts couples with children at 32%. The 2023 Census counted 209 residents in 93 households. The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 5.3% in Irais and 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Throughout this page, the Deux-Sèvres 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 Irais
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 20 second homes and occasional dwellings in Irais, 16% of its 130 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 10% in Irais, more than in 81% 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
One household in 15 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%. Households without a car: 6.5% of the total. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A +6% change since 2012: faster than 53% 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 Deux-Sèvres town +1%.
Above 64% of compared French towns: 25% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Irais 45.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Irais is 45.6, higher than in 60% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. In Irais, one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
32% of households are one person living alone, below 68% 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 Deux-Sèvres median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Irais has 11%.
€24,120 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 €24,120 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
26% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 98% 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%; Irais has 37%. Typically, 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).
Fewer immigrants than 88% of compared French towns: 2.4%
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 share of foreign nationals trails 73% of compared French towns: 2.4%. 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.
In Irais, 61% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 99% 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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Irais comes in at 20%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Irais sits below 69% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (25%)
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
The share of adults with no qualification is 21%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
The 21st oldest of 41 French towns of 209 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Irais
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irais | 45.6 | 25% | 16% | 2.4% |
| Airvault 3,306 · 4.5 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 3.6% |
| Thouars 13,891 · 9.5 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 2.5% | 6.5% |
| Loudun 6,839 · 12.4 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 4.9% |
| Loretz-d'Argenton 2,575 · 15 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 5.8% | 2.9% |
| Châtillon-sur-Thouet 2,656 · 16.5 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 1.3% | 3.4% |
| Argentonnay 3,234 · 17.5 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 7.2% | 3.7% |
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 Irais
What is the population of Irais?
209 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (198).
How old are Irais’ residents?
The median age is 45.6, older than 60% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Irais?
20, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Irais?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Irais?
€24,120 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 9, 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.