Older than 96% of compared French towns: half of Cervières is over 57
With flats at 3.7%, Cervières is behind 98% of compared French towns on that count. This Loire town counted 103 residents and 55 households at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 11: nearly one in ten households are couples with children. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the 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 Cervières
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 36 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cervières, 34% of its 110 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 94% 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 Cervières’ residents are under 57 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 26% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
55% of Cervières’ households are one person: higher than in 98% of compared French towns; 52% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cervières had 115 residents at the 2012 census and 103 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 95% of compared French towns: 34%
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
17% of households arrived within the last two years, while 37% have stayed 30 years or more. Empty homes are more common here than in 94% of compared French towns. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Where 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, Cervières has 12%.
From 2012 to 2023, 97% of compared French towns grew faster than Cervières: −10%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +3% for the median Loire town, the change came in two steps: +4% from 2012 to 2017, then −14% to 2023.
More residents aged 65 and over than 72% of compared French towns: 26%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cervières 57. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (8.9%), Cervières is below just over four fifths of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Cervières ranks above 98% of compared French towns on one-person households: 55%
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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On average, 1.9 people share a household.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 9.1% of households are headed by a retired person
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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional tops 85% of compared French towns: 18%. What’s more, at 55%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.9%
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals in Cervières. The wider picture: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Cervières ranks above 78% of compared French towns on married residents: 47%
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 figure for single residents is 24% in Cervières and 25% in the typical compared French town. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Cervières ranks above 76% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 39%
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
Across Cervières, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 103 to 2,582 people, the 5th 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).
Every neighbor is younger than Cervières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cervières | 57 | 26% | 34% | 0.9% |
| Thiers 11,637 · 10.6 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 3.8% | 11% |
| Courpière 4,166 · 12.2 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 3.7% | 5.7% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 13.6 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Puy-Guillaume 2,630 · 15.5 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 2.7% | 4% |
| Renaison 3,231 · 16.4 mi | 50.3 | 31% | 3.4% | 2.2% |
| Villerest 5,172 · 17.3 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 1.9% | 6.1% |
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 Cervières
What is the population of Cervières?
103 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (115).
How old are Cervières’ residents?
The median age is 57, older than 96% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cervières?
36, with occasional dwellings: 34% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cervières?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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 4, 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.