Empty homes make up 14% in Billom, more than in 95% of compared French towns
With a median age of 48.8, Billom is older than 78% of compared French towns. In Billom, just over two in five households are one person living alone. This Puy-de-Dôme town is home to 4,805 residents in 2,150 households, by the 2023 Census. Against a figure of 12% in the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing in Billom comes in at 7.4%.
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 Billom
Empty homes
The census found 380 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Billom’s population moved +1% on 2012, less than in 64% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Puy-de-Dôme town +4%. The first five years brought ±0%; the six to 2023, +1%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 27%, a higher share than 74% 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
■ Billom 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in Billom, 9.2%. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of couples with children than 62% of compared French towns: 23%
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
Each household has 2 people on average. To put it in context, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up 10%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Only 27% of homes are flats in Billom
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
Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 2.9%. In the typical compared French town, flats come to 30%. Census figures put households without a car at 12% in Billom.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €25,210 a year
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.
At €25,210 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 58% of compared French towns. 14.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 7.9%, a lower share than 60% 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 Billom, 32% of households are headed by a retired person. Nothing unusual on households headed by a manual worker: 14%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
3.7% of residents are immigrants, below 76% 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.
In Billom, 2.2% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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.
A smaller share of married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 36%
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
Single residents make up about one in four here (26%). On average, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 69% of compared French towns, at 25%
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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Billom comes in at 22%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
41 French towns of 4,769 to 4,840 people: this is the 6th 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 Rosières-près-Troyes (32.7), the youngest, and Vittel (56.6), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Billom
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billom | 48.8 | 27% | 2.9% | 3.7% |
| Vertaizon 3,527 · 4.3 mi | 39.4 | 14% | 1.6% | 5.3% |
| Mur-sur-Allier 3,111 · 5.3 mi | 46.1 | 20% | 3.5% | 4.6% |
| Pont-du-Château 12,412 · 6.8 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 1.1% | 6.7% |
| Cournon-d'Auvergne 19,951 · 6.9 mi | 46.6 | 27% | 1.4% | 7.1% |
| Le Cendre 5,415 · 7.1 mi | 45.6 | 26% | 1.1% | 5.6% |
| Vic-le-Comte 5,396 · 7.3 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 Billom
What is the population of Billom?
4,805 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (4,739).
How old are Billom’s residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Billom?
76, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Billom?
INSEE counts 180 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Billom?
€25,210 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.