Second homes: 53%, a higher share than 98% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The census found that 17% of households are couples with children in Montarcher. Census day 2023: 63 residents and 32 households here. In Montarcher, 3.1% of households have no car, beside 11% in the typical compared French town.
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 Montarcher
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 42 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montarcher, 53% of its 79 homes: higher than in 98% 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 Montarcher’s residents are under 54.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Montarcher’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 28% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montarcher had 66 residents at the 2012 census and 63 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
One home in two in Montarcher is a second home
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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 6.3% of homes stand empty.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 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 first five years brought +2%; the six to 2023, −6%.
Montarcher is older than 93% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montarcher 54.5. The median compared French town: 44.
6.3% of residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Here, two in five residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Montarcher, 50% of households are one person living alone, more than in 94% 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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Average household size: 2 people.
Montarcher: 50% of households are headed by a retired person, above 97% 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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 17%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.6%, a lower share than 96% 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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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.
Montarcher sits above 96% of compared French towns for married residents (52%)
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
Locally, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Montarcher sits below 96% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (9.6%)
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 Montarcher, 31% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. Measured more widely, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 63 to 2,582
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).
Montarcher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montarcher | 54.5 | 40% | 53% | 1.6% |
| Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez 5,116 · 8.6 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Saint-Romain-le-Puy 4,142 · 9.2 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| Sury-le-Comtal 6,621 · 10.7 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 1.6% | 10% |
| Montbrison 16,123 · 10.8 mi | 44.6 | 25% | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| Savigneux 3,509 · 11.4 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Bonson 4,557 · 11.7 mi | 41.5 | 23% | 1% | 5.8% |
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 Montarcher
What is the population of Montarcher?
63 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (66).
How old are Montarcher’s residents?
The median age is 54.5, older than 93% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montarcher?
42, with occasional dwellings: 53% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montarcher?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). 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 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.