More one-person households than 88% of compared French towns: 47%
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Riom. Flats make up about one in two here (50%). More households headed by a retired person than in 64% of compared French towns: 35%. At the 2023 Census Riom was home to 18,820 people in 9,110 households.
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 Riom
Empty homes
The census found 1,230 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 62% of compared French towns grew faster than Riom: +2%
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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Puy-de-Dôme town +4%.
12% of residents are 15 to 24, a share 77% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Riom 43.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. The median age in Riom is 43.4, lower than in 55% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Riom ranks below 77% of compared French towns on couples with children: 19%
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
A household here holds 2 people on average. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. There is little gap on single-parent households: 10%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Riom sits above 86% of compared French towns for empty homes (11%)
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
14% of households arrived within the last two years, while 20% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are more common here than in 70% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. With second homes at 3.2%, Riom is ahead of 64% of compared French towns on that count.
Median standard of living: €26,020 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.
The median standard of living in Riom is €26,020 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 51% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 16.0% of residents.
A higher share of households headed by a manager or professional than 63% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
15% of households are headed by a manual worker. As a yardstick, nearly one in ten 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).
Immigrants make up 8.3% in Riom, more than in 62% 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.
5.8% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. As a reference point, 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 lower share of married residents than 88% of compared French towns, at 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
With single residents at 30%, Riom is ahead of 81% of compared French towns on that count. The wider picture: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 35%, a higher share than 68% 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
In Riom, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 19th oldest of 41 French towns of 18,067 to 19,645 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 33.2 in Moissy-Cramayel to 64.5 in Royan.
Riom is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riom | 43.4 | 24% | 3.2% | 8.3% |
| Mozac 3,957 · 1.2 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 1.6% | 5.9% |
| Châteaugay 3,189 · 3.1 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.5% | 7.1% |
| Châtel-Guyon 6,299 · 3.1 mi | 48.2 | 25% | 13% | 5.9% |
| Volvic 4,883 · 4.2 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 3.6% | 8.6% |
| Cébazat 8,953 · 4.3 mi | 45.8 | 28% | 1.2% | 13% |
| Blanzat 3,709 · 4.5 mi | 51.9 | 32% | 1.1% | 8.5% |
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 Riom
What is the population of Riom?
18,820 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (18,484).
How old are Riom’s residents?
The median age is 43.4, younger than 55% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Riom?
350, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Riom?
INSEE counts 1,570 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.3% of residents, and 1,080 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Riom?
€26,020 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% 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.