In Cisternes-la-Forêt, 4.1% of homes are flats, fewer than in 97% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Cisternes-la-Forêt had 443 residents in 210 households at the 2023 census. 4.9% of households are single parents, or about one in 20. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in the town, 8.4%.
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 Cisternes-la-Forêt
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 42 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cisternes-la-Forêt, 14% of its 290 homes: higher than in 91% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cisternes-la-Forêt had 475 residents at the 2012 census and 443 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Cisternes-la-Forêt ranks above 91% of compared French towns on second homes: 14%
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
In the last two years, 6.8% of households moved in; at the other end, 40% have stayed 30 years or more. Cisternes-la-Forêt has more empty homes than 95% of compared French towns, at 15%. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. 7.2% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%.
−7% since 2012: slower than 93% 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 median Puy-de-Dôme town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −3% and the next six −4%.
Half of Cisternes-la-Forêt is over 45.9, older than 63% 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
■ Cisternes-la-Forêt 45.9. The median compared French town: 44.
On the census count, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of couples with children than 72% of compared French towns: 29%
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
In Cisternes-la-Forêt, 37% of households are one person living alone, beside 35% in the typical compared French town. Typically, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.1 people each.
Standard of living at the median: €23,920 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,920 a year: lower than in 72% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 78% of compared French towns: 9.8%
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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 34% in Cisternes-la-Forêt. On average, 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).
1.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 97% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Cisternes-la-Forêt comes in at 0.2%. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
In Cisternes-la-Forêt, 39% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 75% of compared French towns
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 trails 71% of compared French towns: 23%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 85% of compared French towns: 20%
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 Cisternes-la-Forêt comes in at 22%. For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 443 to 2,582 people, the 19th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Cisternes-la-Forêt
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
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 Cisternes-la-Forêt
What is the population of Cisternes-la-Forêt?
443 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (475).
How old are Cisternes-la-Forêt’s residents?
The median age is 45.9, older than 63% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cisternes-la-Forêt?
42, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cisternes-la-Forêt?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cisternes-la-Forêt?
€23,920 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.