Below 99% of compared French towns: 1% of homes are flats
4.9% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. There were 170 households in Charmes at the 2023 Census, home to 369 residents. Here, nearly a quarter of households are headed by a manual worker. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 5.9%, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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 Charmes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Charmes had 392 residents at the 2012 census and 369 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−6% since 2012, a pace below 91% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +2%, then −7% to 2023. Over those years, the median Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%.
6% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% 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
■ Charmes 46.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.4, Charmes is older than nearly two thirds of compared French towns. In Charmes, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
29% of households are couples with children, more than in 72% 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 70% of compared French towns. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A higher share of second homes than 82% of compared French towns, at 6.6%
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
7.7% of households arrived within the last two years, while 30% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Empty homes: 8.1%, above 65% of compared French towns.
A typical living standard of €26,130 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 Charmes is €26,130 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 78% of compared French towns, at 5.9%
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
37% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). By way of comparison, 9.4% of 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 97% of compared French towns: 1.4%
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.
With foreign nationals at 0.6%, Charmes is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, 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.
Fewer single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 16%
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
In couples, 50% are married and 15% in a PACS (median compared French town: 43% and 6.1%); 6.4% are widowed. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 83% of compared French towns: 13%
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
Graduates of higher education make up 23%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (369 to 2,582 people), the 18th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is older than Charmes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charmes | 46.4 | 22% | 6.6% | 1.4% |
| Gannat 5,610 · 2.8 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Aigueperse 2,665 · 4.6 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 7.6 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 9 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Abrest 2,915 · 9.5 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 10.2 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
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 Charmes
What is the population of Charmes?
369 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (392).
How old are Charmes’ residents?
The median age is 46.4, older than 66% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Charmes?
13, with occasional dwellings: 6.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Charmes?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Charmes?
€26,130 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 4, 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.