A median age of 58.9: Blesle is older than 98% of compared French towns
Flats: 10%, below 87% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Blesle was home to 611 people in 340 households. Locally, 14% of households are couples with children. 6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, a lower share than in 76% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Loire 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 Blesle
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 180 second homes and occasional dwellings in Blesle, 29% of its 600 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 99% 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 Blesle’s residents are under 58.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 87 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 29% of homes are second homes
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 11 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Here, 15% of homes stand empty. Lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns: 6% of households rent social housing (HLM). In the typical compared French town, second homes come to 2.1%.
Slower growth than 76% of compared French towns: Blesle changed by −2% since 2012
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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +3%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Haute-Loire town +2%.
Blesle sits above 97% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (39%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Blesle 58.9. The median compared French town: 44.
5.1% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 46% in Blesle, more than in 86% 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 Haute-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 1.8 people on average. Blesle has fewer single-parent households than 69% of compared French towns, at 8.9%. The usual figure: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €22,990 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.
At €22,990 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 69% of compared French towns, at 36%
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 Blesle, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. 6% of the town’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 36% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 4.3% in Blesle, less than in 70% 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.
Foreign nationals: 2.3%, below three quarters of compared French towns. The comparison figure for immigrants is 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.
51% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In Blesle, a fifth of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Only 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Blesle
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
Blesle has fewer adults with no qualification than 52% of compared French towns, at 19%. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (611 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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.
Blesle is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blesle | 58.9 | 39% | 29% | 4.3% |
| Sainte-Florine 3,283 · 9.3 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Brioude 6,527 · 10.2 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 5.3% | 7.5% |
| Brassac-les-Mines 3,412 · 10.2 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 2.2% | 3.6% |
| Issoire 15,115 · 16.1 mi | 45.9 | 26% | 2% | 4.5% |
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 Blesle
What is the population of Blesle?
611 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (621).
How old are Blesle’s residents?
The median age is 58.9, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Blesle?
180, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Blesle?
INSEE counts 27 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Blesle?
€22,990 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 8, 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.