In Sonnac, 1.3% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 1.6% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. With a median age of 50, Sonnac is older than 83% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 512, in 250 households. 16% of households are single parents.
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 Sonnac
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sonnac had 536 residents at the 2012 census and 512 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 39 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −4% since 2012 leaves Sonnac behind 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
The change was −6% from 2012 to 2017 and +1% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
Only 8.2% of residents are 15 to 24 in Sonnac
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sonnac 50. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 27% in Sonnac and 22% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Only 20% of households are couples with children in Sonnac
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
There are 2.1 people in the average household. Higher than in 69% of compared French towns: 40% of households are one person living alone. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Empty homes: 13%, a higher share than 90% of compared French towns
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
Where 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, Sonnac has 7.1%. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 7.6%, fewer than in 69% of compared French towns. Empty homes: 6.7% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. 32% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 11% moved in within the last two years.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,460 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 Sonnac’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,460 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns, at 2%
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 retired person is 30% in Sonnac and 32% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 18%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.1% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 62% 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 median compared commune in Charente-Maritime has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 62% of compared French towns. Typically, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. 3.5% of residents are foreign nationals, or about one in 29.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Sonnac ranks below 92% of compared French towns on single residents: 20%
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 45% of residents 15 and over are married here. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Sonnac ranks below 91% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 18%
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
Adults with no qualification make up 25%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 512 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Sonnac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonnac | 50 | 27% | 7.1% | 5.1% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 7.1 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Cognac 18,532 · 9.8 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Châteaubernard 3,878 · 10.4 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 1.9% | 4.8% |
| Rouillac 2,919 · 10.6 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 5.7% | 2.6% |
| Jarnac 4,486 · 11.2 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély 6,784 · 14.1 mi | 56 | 36% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
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 Sonnac
What is the population of Sonnac?
512 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (536).
How old are Sonnac’s residents?
The median age is 50, older than 83% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sonnac?
22, with occasional dwellings: 7.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sonnac?
INSEE counts 26 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sonnac?
€24,460 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.