29% of homes stand empty, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.3%, below 96% of compared French towns. 3.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, a lower share than in 94% of compared French towns. Ardes is home to 592 residents in 270 households, by the 2023 Census. On the census count, 4.6% of households rent social housing (HLM).
Throughout this page, the Puy-de-Dôme 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 Ardes
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 90 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ardes, 18% of its 500 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 93% 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 150 homes empty (29%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Ardes’ residents are under 52.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Ardes ranks above 92% of compared French towns on second homes: 18%
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
Here 15% of households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. Put another way, about one in eight: 13% of homes are flats.
Faster growth than 62% of compared French towns: Ardes changed by +8% since 2012
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 median Puy-de-Dôme town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +2% and the next six +6%.
Ardes is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ardes 52.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 35% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
41% of households are one person living alone, a share 73% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Puy-de-Dôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2 people. 21% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 69% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Single-parent households make up about one in 11 here (9.5%).
A median of €22,960 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 Ardes is €22,960 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
Above 86% of compared French towns: 21% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Where nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Ardes has 26%. The wider picture: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 84% of compared French towns: 2.7%
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 Puy-de-Dôme has 5.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 84% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants. Foreign nationals make up about one in 53 here (1.9%).
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 78% of compared French towns: 38%
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 share of single residents stands at 26%. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 19%, a lower share than 89% 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
By its share of adults with no qualification (27%), Ardes is above 85% of compared French towns. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (592 to 2,582 people), the 8th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Ardes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardes | 52.6 | 35% | 18% | 2.7% |
| Sainte-Florine 3,283 · 9.2 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Brassac-les-Mines 3,412 · 9.7 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 2.2% | 3.6% |
| Issoire 15,115 · 11.2 mi | 45.9 | 26% | 2% | 4.5% |
| Brioude 6,527 · 14.4 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 5.3% | 7.5% |
| Vic-le-Comte 5,396 · 17.7 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 2.5% | 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 Ardes
What is the population of Ardes?
592 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (550).
How old are Ardes’ residents?
The median age is 52.6, older than 90% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ardes?
90, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ardes?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ardes?
€22,960 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 9, 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.