A higher share of second homes than 92% of compared French towns, at 17%
The figure for households without a car is 5.1% in Montchal and 11% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 24: 4.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Couples with children are more common here than in 87% of compared French towns. This Loire town counted 512 residents and 230 households at the 2023 Census.
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 Montchal
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 56 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montchal, 17% of its 320 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
Empty homes
The census found 38 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Montchal, 5.7% of homes are flats, fewer than in 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
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Montchal comes in at 12%. On the census count, 6.4% of households rent social housing (HLM). Typically, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Montchal grew +7% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 60% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +3%, and from 2017 to 2023 +4%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Loire town +3%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 77% of compared French towns, at 9.2%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montchal 45.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Montchal is 45.2, higher than in 58% of compared French towns. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 65 and over come to 21% locally, about two in ten.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Montchal, 6.4% of households are single parents, fewer 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
Households average 2.3 people. Elsewhere, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On one-person households, Montchal sits higher than just over half of compared French towns: 35%.
The median resident lives on €25,450 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.
Half of Montchal’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,450 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 55% of compared French towns.
42% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 88% 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
Here, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. Across the comparison, 32% 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).
Immigrants make up 2.1% in Montchal, less than in 90% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Montchal has 1.8%. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 70% of compared French towns: 23%
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
Married residents: 41%, below 62% of compared French towns. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Graduates of higher education: 26%, a lower share than 64% 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
Across Montchal, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Among 41 French towns of 512 to 2,582 people, the 21st 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
4 of 6 neighbors are older than Montchal
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montchal | 45.2 | 21% | 17% | 2.1% |
| Panissières 2,911 · 2.5 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 7.2% | 3% |
| Balbigny 2,911 · 6.3 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 3.1% | 5.6% |
| Tarare 10,893 · 7.3 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.1% | 14% |
| Feurs 8,367 · 7.5 mi | 50.7 | 32% | 2% | 6.7% |
| Vindry-sur-Turdine 5,305 · 9.2 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 2.2% | 3.5% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 10.1 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
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 Montchal
What is the population of Montchal?
512 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (478).
How old are Montchal’s residents?
The median age is 45.2, older than 58% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montchal?
56, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montchal?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montchal?
€25,450 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 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.