Noirétable is older than 89% of compared French towns: a median age of 52
44% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 1,585 residents in Noirétable, living in 730 households. Across Noirétable, 4.8% of households are single parents. Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 15%, more than in 68% 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 Noirétable
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 180 second homes and occasional dwellings in Noirétable, 17% of its 1,050 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 86% 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 Noirétable’s residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 140 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Noirétable had 1,658 residents at the 2012 census and 1,585 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Noirétable: 17% of homes are second homes, above 92% 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
Of all households, 11% moved in during the last two years and 27% have stayed three decades or more. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Higher than in 93% of compared French towns: 14% of homes stand empty. Meanwhile, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, against 8% in Noirétable.
−4% since 2012, a pace below 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
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 ±0% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over: 31%, a higher share than 87% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Noirétable 52. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.9% in Noirétable and 11% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
A lower share of couples with children than 70% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
Average household size: 2 people. Elsewhere, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Noirétable has more one-person households than 69% of compared French towns, at 40%.
The median resident lives on €24,050 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.
Living standards centre on €24,050 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
In Noirétable, 4.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 87% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Noirétable has 8.9%. For comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Noirétable sits below 63% of compared French towns for immigrants (5%)
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.
The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 63% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 20: 4.9% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 55% of compared French towns: 42%
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
Just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single, a higher share than in 55% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 91% of compared French towns: 30%
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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 23% in Noirétable and 30% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 9th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Noirétable and its 4 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noirétable | 52 | 31% | 17% | 5% |
| Thiers 11,637 · 11.2 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 3.8% | 11% |
| Courpière 4,166 · 11.4 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 3.7% | 5.7% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 12.5 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Puy-Guillaume 2,630 · 16.9 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 2.7% | 4% |
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 Noirétable
What is the population of Noirétable?
1,585 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (1,658).
How old are Noirétable’s residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Noirétable?
180, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Noirétable?
INSEE counts 79 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5% of residents, and 78 foreign nationals (4.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Noirétable?
€24,050 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.