Photo: Alainauzas · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of empty homes than 93% of compared French towns: 14%
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 4.8% of homes are second homes here. Meanwhile, at 6.4%, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is lower than in 73% of compared French towns. Cruas’s 1,250 households held 2,898 residents at the 2023 Census. 7.6% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Cruas
Empty homes
The census found 210 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.
+1% since 2012, a pace below 66% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +5%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%.
Cruas sits below 75% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (9.4%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cruas 42.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Cruas’s residents are under 42.9, younger than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. Residents aged 65 and over: a fifth of the total. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of couples with children than 59% of compared French towns: 27%
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.3 people on average. Few places have so few single-parent households: 9.6% here, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone; in Cruas, 34%.
A smaller share of flats than 61% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Of all households, 10% moved in during the last two years and 18% have stayed three decades or more. Higher than in 53% of compared French towns: 13% of households rent social housing (HLM). For comparison, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €25,660 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 €25,660 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 53% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 14.0%.
Households headed by a retired person: 28%, a lower share than 74% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 17% in Cruas. 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).
Immigrants make up 6.1% of Cruas’ residents
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.
The median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 53% of compared French towns. In Cruas, 3.7% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Cruas ranks above 73% of compared French towns on married residents: 46%
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: 23% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
Graduates of higher education: 24%, a lower share than 72% 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
At 20%, the share of adults with no qualification is higher than in 57% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (2,877 to 2,919 people), the 10th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Avord (32.5), the oldest Batz-sur-Mer (60.3).
Cruas sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruas | 42.9 | 20% | 4.8% | 6.1% |
| Chomérac 3,183 · 6.1 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 5.1% | 3.9% |
| Le Pouzin 2,886 · 6.5 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 1.8% | 12% |
| Loriol-sur-Drôme 6,614 · 7 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1.3% | 9.2% |
| Montélimar 40,595 · 7.1 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Montboucher-sur-Jabron 2,592 · 7.5 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Le Teil 8,726 · 8.6 mi | 43 | 22% | 2.9% | 13% |
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 Cruas
What is the population of Cruas?
2,898 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (2,872).
How old are Cruas’ residents?
The median age is 42.9, younger than 59% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cruas?
74, with occasional dwellings: 4.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cruas?
INSEE counts 180 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.1% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (3.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cruas?
€25,660 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 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.