Fouras is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 62.9
58% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Fouras counted 4,148 residents and 2,260 households at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing account for 5.1%. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 98% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Fouras
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,070 second homes and occasional dwellings in Fouras, 45% of its 4,620 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 90% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Fouras’ residents are under 62.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 45% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 97% of compared French towns: 45% of homes are second homes
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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 13% of homes are flats here. 6.2% of homes stand empty, or about one in 16. More households without a car than in half of compared French towns: 11%. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%.
Since 2012, Fouras has changed by +2%, slower than 63% 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 compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
45% of residents are 65 or over, a share 99% 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
■ Fouras 62.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Fouras has 7.1%. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children make up 12% in Fouras, less than in 98% 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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 1.8 people each. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 40% of households are one person living alone, more than in 69% of compared French towns.
A median of €29,100 a year per consumption unit
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 midpoint of living standards here is €29,100 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 79% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 9.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 4.9% in Fouras, less than in 96% 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
Across Fouras, one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional. Measured more widely, 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).
In Fouras, 2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 92% 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.
The share of foreign nationals trails 91% of compared French towns: 1.2%. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% 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
Married residents make up 51%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of adults with no qualification than 71% of compared French towns, at 15%
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 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Fouras comes in at 35%. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 4,116 to 4,181 people: this is the 2nd 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.
Salouël is the youngest (32.5); Le Pouliguen the oldest (67.6).
No nearby town is as old as Fouras
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fouras | 62.9 | 45% | 45% | 2% |
| Soubise 3,316 · 5.8 mi | 32.5 | 20% | 3.2% | 1.8% |
| Châtelaillon-Plage 6,653 · 6 mi | 59.8 | 42% | 37% | 2.9% |
| Rochefort 23,460 · 6.4 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 11% | 6.6% |
| Angoulins 4,240 · 8.3 mi | 54 | 35% | 15% | 3.8% |
| Échillais 3,765 · 8.5 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 2.3% | 2% |
| Le Château-d'Oléron 4,366 · 9.4 mi | 55 | 35% | 37% | 2% |
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 Fouras
What is the population of Fouras?
4,148 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (4,083).
How old are Fouras’ residents?
The median age is 62.9, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 45% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fouras?
2,070, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fouras?
INSEE counts 82 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fouras?
€29,100 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.