Photo: Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0In Illiers-Combray, 14% of homes stand empty, more than in 94% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Illiers-Combray comes in at 4.3%. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 29%, more than in 83% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 3,210, in 1,490 households. Locally, just over two in five households are one person living alone.
Throughout this page, the Eure-et-Loir 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 Illiers-Combray
Fewer residents than in 2012
Illiers-Combray had 3,427 residents at the 2012 census and 3,210 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 260 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Illiers-Combray’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 92% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −3%; 2017 to 2023, −3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Eure-et-Loir town −1%.
Half of Illiers-Combray is over 47.9, older than 74% 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
■ Illiers-Combray 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In Illiers-Combray, 9.9% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% 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: Eure-et-Loir 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Illiers-Combray sits below 74% of compared French towns for couples with children (20%)
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 Eure-et-Loir median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.1 people. As a reference point, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. At 12%, the share of single-parent households is higher than in 80% of compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 77% of compared French towns, at 5%
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
The share of flats is 23%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing: 17% of the total. Illiers-Combray has more households without a car than 66% of compared French towns, at 14%. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €24,640 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,640 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 65% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 14.0% of residents.
42% of households are headed by a retired person, 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
Households headed by a manual worker make up 20%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 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).
Only 2.6% of residents are immigrants in Illiers-Combray
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 median compared commune in Eure-et-Loir has 7.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. About one in 63: that is how common foreign nationals are in Illiers-Combray (1.6%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 69% of compared French towns, at 40%
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
25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Illiers-Combray. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Below 96% of compared French towns: 16% 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
31% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Ranked by age, 18th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 32.2 in Ormoy to 63.2 in Saint-Quay-Portrieux.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Illiers-Combray
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illiers-Combray | 47.9 | 29% | 5% | 2.6% |
| Brou 3,230 · 7 mi | 58.1 | 39% | 4.5% | 1.8% |
| Saint-Georges-sur-Eure 2,797 · 9.8 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2% | 4% |
| Courville-sur-Eure 2,791 · 10.3 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
| Bonneval 4,868 · 10.8 mi | 48 | 29% | 4.2% | 4.7% |
| Luisant 6,945 · 13.6 mi | 46.5 | 26% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Lucé 15,921 · 13.7 mi | 40.6 | 22% | 1.1% | 16% |
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 Illiers-Combray
What is the population of Illiers-Combray?
3,210 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (3,427).
How old are Illiers-Combray’s residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Illiers-Combray?
92, with occasional dwellings: 5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Illiers-Combray?
INSEE counts 83 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Illiers-Combray?
€24,640 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.