Second homes make up 31% in Virlet, more than in 95% of compared French towns
With flats at 1.4%, Virlet is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. The town counted 270 residents and 110 households at the 2023 Census. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 23%. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 6.8% here, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns.
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 Virlet
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 70 second homes and occasional dwellings in Virlet, 31% of its 220 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
Empty homes
The census found 44 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Virlet, 20% of homes stand empty, more than in 99% 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
Without a car: one household in 10, against 11% in the median compared French town. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 5.6% of households arrived within the last two years, while 34% have stayed 30 years or more.
Slower growth than 77% of compared French towns: Virlet changed by −2% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −1%, and from 2017 to 2023 −1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Puy-de-Dôme town +4%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 65% of compared French towns, at 25%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Virlet 45.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Virlet is 45.4, higher than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
43% women, 57% men
About 75 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Virlet: 40% of households are one person living alone, above 71% of compared French towns
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 2.1 people. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 23% of households are couples with children. Few places have so few single-parent households: 9.1% here, fewer than in 66% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €23,310 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.
Half of residents live in households above €23,310 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 85% of compared French towns: 41%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
11% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 84% of compared French towns don’t reach
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 78% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Puy-de-Dôme has 5.9%. On average, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Here, 12% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Virlet ranks above 96% of compared French towns on single residents: 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
For Virlet, the census puts married residents at 43%. As a yardstick, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Virlet sits below 55% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (28%)
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
Census figures put adults with no qualification at 19% in Virlet. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 270 to 2,582 people: this is the 21st 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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Every neighbor is older than Virlet
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virlet | 45.4 | 25% | 31% | 12% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 6.6 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 9.2 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 13.3 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 13.5 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 14.2 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 15.8 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
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 Virlet
What is the population of Virlet?
270 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (275).
How old are Virlet’s residents?
The median age is 45.4, older than 59% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Virlet?
70, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Virlet?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 29 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Virlet?
€23,310 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.