Photo: Cobber17 · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Royan is over 64.5
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 6.9% of households are couples with children in Royan. There were 11,920 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 19,425 residents. Empty homes: 3.2% of the total. Few places have so few households headed by a manager or professional: 5.4% here, fewer than in 82% 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 Royan
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 9,350 second homes and occasional dwellings in Royan, 43% of its 21,960 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 44% 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 Royan’s residents are under 64.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 49% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
56% of Royan’s households are one person: higher than in 98% of compared French towns; 42% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Royan ranks above 96% of compared French towns on second homes: 43%
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
Households without a car: 17% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. 52% of homes are flats. Few places have so few households in social housing: 12% here, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns.
Growth of +10% since 2012 puts Royan ahead of 69% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +4%; 2017 to 2023, +6%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns, at 49%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Royan 64.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 6.2% in Royan and 11% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
About 77 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.
Royan ranks above 98% of compared French towns on one-person households: 56%
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
A household here holds 1.6 people on average. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few single-parent households: 7.1% here, fewer than in 89% of compared French towns.
€26,760 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.
At €26,760 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 59% of compared French towns. Some 14.3% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Households headed by a retired person: 58%, a higher share than 99% 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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 6.3% in Royan and 14% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 70% of compared French towns, at 4.4%
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 2.6%, Royan is behind 70% 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.
22% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 77% 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: 40% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 62% of compared French towns: 27%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification here. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 18,619 to 20,244 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Juvisy-sur-Orge is the youngest (33.9); Royan the oldest (64.5).
Older than Royan: 3 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royan | 64.5 | 49% | 43% | 4.4% |
| Vaux-sur-Mer 4,013 · 1.7 mi | 66.9 | 54% | 63% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Didonne 5,092 · 2.5 mi | 67.3 | 55% | 67% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Sulpice-de-Royan 3,446 · 2.7 mi | 58.7 | 40% | 7.3% | 2.3% |
| Saint-Palais-sur-Mer 3,840 · 2.9 mi | 68.1 | 58% | 69% | 3.1% |
| Médis 3,157 · 3.2 mi | 56.7 | 36% | 8.7% | 3% |
| Breuillet 3,058 · 4.5 mi | 62.5 | 45% | 14% | 2.4% |
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 Royan
What is the population of Royan?
19,425 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% more than in 2012 (17,690).
How old are Royan’s residents?
The median age is 64.5, older than 99% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 49% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Royan?
9,350, with occasional dwellings: 43% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Royan?
INSEE counts 850 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 510 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Royan?
€26,760 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.3% 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.