56% of homes are second homes, a share 98% of compared French towns don’t reach
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 321 residents and 160 households in Les Estables. Empty homes account for 9.3%. Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%.
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 Les Estables
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 250 second homes and occasional dwellings in Les Estables, 56% of its 450 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 54% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Les Estables had 341 residents at the 2012 census and 321 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Les Estables’ residents are under 51.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of households without a car than 65% of compared French towns, at 8.3%
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 (median compared French town: 11%). Long tenure is the mark of 22% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 13% (under two years).
−6% since 2012: slower than 90% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Haute-Loire town +2%.
Older than 87% of compared French towns: half of Les Estables is over 51.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Estables 51.3. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (25%), Les Estables is above 66% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
In Les Estables, 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 55% 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
There are 2.1 people in the average household. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Single-parent households: 10%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €22,500 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,500 a year: lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
11% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 71% of compared French towns
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: 35% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 83% of compared French towns, at 2.8%
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.
1.3% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 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.
More married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 49%
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
The share of single residents is 27%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Les Estables sits below 57% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (28%)
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
For Les Estables, the census puts adults with no qualification at 18%. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 321 to 2,582 people, the 11th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Les Estables
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Estables | 51.3 | 25% | 56% | 2.8% |
| Saint-Germain-Laprade 3,432 · 12.9 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 13.1 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Coubon 3,140 · 13.2 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 4.5% | 2% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 13.5 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Brives-Charensac 4,244 · 14.8 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 5.7% |
| Le Puy-en-Velay 18,540 · 15.7 mi | 44.6 | 26% | 5.9% | 12% |
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 Les Estables
What is the population of Les Estables?
321 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (341).
How old are Les Estables’ residents?
The median age is 51.3, older than 87% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Estables?
250, with occasional dwellings: 56% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Estables?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.8% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Estables?
€22,500 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.