Couples with children: 37%, a higher share than 96% of compared French towns
Households in social housing: 0.1%, below 99% of compared French towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are scarce here: 16%, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 2,117 residents and 850 households in Le Thou. Flats account for 1.2%.
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 Le Thou
A town of families
37% of households are couples with children and 7.9% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Le Thou had 1,807 residents at the 2012 census and 2,117 in 2023, up 17%: faster growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Le Thou grew +17% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 86% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
Half of Le Thou is under 40.9, younger than 74% 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
■ Le Thou 40.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Le Thou comes in at 9.2%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Le Thou sits below 99% of compared French towns for one-person households (21%)
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
7.9% of households are single parents; in the typical compared French town the figure is 10%. Measured more widely, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of households without a car than 99% of compared French towns: 1.7%
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
In the last two years, just over one in ten households moved in; at the other end, 15% have stayed 30 years or more. Few places have so few empty homes: 4.2% here, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns. At 2.5%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
€24,800 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €24,800 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 63% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 10.0% of residents.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 88% of compared French towns, at 4.8%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 26%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Just over a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker, a higher share than in 87% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 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).
Fewer immigrants than 94% of compared French towns: 1.8%
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 Charente-Maritime has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 94% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. For Le Thou, the census puts foreign nationals at 1.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 91% of compared French towns: 20% of residents 15 and over are single
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: 47%; in a PACS: 12%; against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town, with 3.5% widowed. Across the comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Le Thou
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
Nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 17% in Le Thou. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Among 41 French towns of 2,117 to 2,582 people, the 4th 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Le Thou 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Thou | 40.9 | 16% | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis 4,677 · 1.9 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 3.1% | 2% |
| La Jarrie 3,458 · 4.6 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 2.1% | 2.4% |
| La Jarne 2,637 · 7.3 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 5.4% | 2.4% |
| Châtelaillon-Plage 6,653 · 7.6 mi | 59.8 | 42% | 37% | 2.9% |
| Sainte-Soulle 5,034 · 8.5 mi | 42 | 18% | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| Angoulins 4,240 · 8.7 mi | 54 | 35% | 15% | 3.8% |
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 Le Thou
What is the population of Le Thou?
2,117 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (1,807).
How old are Le Thou’s residents?
The median age is 40.9, younger than 74% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Thou?
22, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Thou?
INSEE counts 38 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Thou?
€24,800 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 10.0% 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 8, 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.