Marlhes ranks above 93% of compared French towns on second homes: 20%
One in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 4.8% in Marlhes. At the 2023 Census, 1,312 people lived here, in 520 households. In Marlhes, 38% of households are headed by a retired person. The town has more residents aged 65 and over than 78% of compared French towns, at 27%.
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 Marlhes
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 150 second homes and occasional dwellings in Marlhes, 20% of its 720 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 95% 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
Marlhes had 1,382 residents at the 2012 census and 1,312 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Marlhes, 4.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 88% 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
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 14% in Marlhes. Set beside that, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 8%. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 8.1%, more than in 65% of compared French towns.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 88% 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
Marlhes is older than 84% of compared French towns: a median age of 50.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Marlhes 50.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 12% of residents are 15 to 24 here.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Marlhes, 32% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 65% 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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.2 people. Couples with children make up about one in four here (26%). In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone.
A median of €27,130 a year per consumption unit
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 median standard of living in Marlhes is €27,130 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 62% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 87% of compared French towns: 4.8%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.5% of residents are immigrants, below 87% 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.
1.5% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
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 73% of compared French towns: 46%
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 27% of residents 15 and over are single here. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In Marlhes, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 60% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Marlhes has 32%. The wider picture: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,312 to 2,582 people: this is the 13th 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).
Marlhes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlhes | 50.4 | 27% | 20% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Genest-Malifaux 2,921 · 3.9 mi | 46.1 | 25% | 16% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Just-Malmont 4,239 · 5.6 mi | 44.2 | 20% | 4.1% | 2.7% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 5.9 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Didier-en-Velay 3,523 · 6.1 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 5.2% | 1.2% |
| Le Chambon-Feugerolles 12,314 · 8 mi | 42.8 | 24% | 1.6% | 13% |
| La Ricamarie 8,039 · 8 mi | 37.5 | 20% | 0.4% | 23% |
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 Marlhes
What is the population of Marlhes?
1,312 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (1,382).
How old are Marlhes’ residents?
The median age is 50.4, older than 84% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Marlhes?
150, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Marlhes?
INSEE counts 33 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 20 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Marlhes?
€27,130 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.