1.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Cayres, 5.6%. There were 310 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 674 residents. Households in social housing: 1.9% of the total. On flats, Cayres sits lower than 91% of compared French towns: 7.8%.
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 Cayres
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 130 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cayres, 27% of its 500 homes: higher than in 94% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Cayres’ residents are under 51.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cayres had 706 residents at the 2012 census and 674 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 65 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 27%, a higher share than 94% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 28% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 12% (under two years). On empty homes, Cayres sits higher than 91% of compared French towns: 13%. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Without a car: one household in 18, against 11% in the median compared French town.
−5% since 2012, a pace below 86% 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 Haute-Loire town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +3% and the next six −8%.
Older than 88% of compared French towns: half of Cayres is over 51.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cayres 51.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 30%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 75% of compared French towns: 9.3%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Only 5% of households are single parents in Cayres
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
The figure for couples with children is 24% in Cayres and 25% in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 68% of compared French towns: 40% of households are one person living alone. In the typical compared French town, single-parent households come to 10%. Households average 2 people.
€23,950 a year: the median standard of living
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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,950 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 72% of compared French towns.
Below 61% of compared French towns: 12% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 retired person: nearly a third of the total. As a reference point, 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).
1.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 95% 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.
In Cayres, 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. On average, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
24% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 62% 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
In Cayres, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Graduates of higher education make up 25% in Cayres, less than in 70% of compared French towns
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
18% of adults out of school have no qualification, or about one in six. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 10th 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Cayres
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayres | 51.6 | 30% | 27% | 1.7% |
| Coubon 3,140 · 7.5 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 4.5% | 2% |
| Vals-près-le-Puy 3,395 · 7.7 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 7.7% |
| Le Puy-en-Velay 18,540 · 8.7 mi | 44.6 | 26% | 5.9% | 12% |
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel 3,585 · 8.7 mi | 47 | 25% | 2.4% | 6.5% |
| Brives-Charensac 4,244 · 10 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 5.7% |
| Chadrac 2,542 · 10.3 mi | 53.1 | 32% | 1.8% | 8.7% |
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 Cayres
What is the population of Cayres?
674 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (706).
How old are Cayres’ residents?
The median age is 51.6, older than 88% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cayres?
130, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cayres?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cayres?
€23,950 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.