Ruffec is older than 95% of compared French towns
Ruffec had 3,449 residents in 1,800 households at the 2023 census. Half are older than 55.8, older than 95% of compared French towns. 1% fewer people than in 2012. 4.9% of its homes are second homes; 10% of residents are immigrants, as INSEE defines them.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Ruffec
An older town
Half of Ruffec’s residents are under 55.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Ruffec’s households are one person: higher than in 93% of compared French towns; 33% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 390 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Ruffec has 1% fewer residents than in 2012
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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Charente town +1%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was −2%; from 2017 to 2023, +1%.
Median age 55.8: older than 95% 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
■ Ruffec 55.8. The median compared French town: 44.
37% of Ruffec’s residents are 65 or older, against 28% in the median Charente town and 22% in the median compared French town; 13% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
1,800 households; about half (50%) are one person
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 median and the France median
Living alone · share
12% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the median compared French town; 7.7% are single parents with their children (10%). The average household has 1.8 people.
72% of homes are houses
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
4.9% of homes are second homes (Charente median 2.4%, France median 2.1%) and 17% are empty (6.7%). One household in four has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. 18% of households moved in less than two years ago; 17% have been in their home 30 years or more.
A median standard of living of €21,520 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 Ruffec’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,520 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 91% of compared French towns. 24.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
The largest group of households: retired (43%)
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
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult). 4.6% of Ruffec’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 43% by a retired person (32%).
10% of Ruffec’s residents are immigrants, as INSEE counts them
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.
That is higher than in 71% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Charente has 4.8%. INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
45% of residents 15 and over live as a couple
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
35% are married and 2.6% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 13% are widowed.
16% of adults hold a diploma above the bac
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
16% of Ruffec’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 33% have no diploma (19%).
The 6th oldest of 41 French towns of 3,419 to 3,481 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.
The youngest is Moult-Chicheboville (35.9), the oldest Saint-Sulpice-de-Royan (58.7).
Ruffec and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffec | 55.8 | 37% | 4.9% | 10% |
| Civray 2,522 · 9.3 mi | 61 | 43% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
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 Ruffec
What is the population of Ruffec?
3,449 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (3,494).
How old are Ruffec’s residents?
The median age is 55.8, older than 95% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ruffec?
110, with occasional dwellings: 4.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ruffec?
INSEE counts 350 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 310 foreign nationals (9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ruffec?
€21,520 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% 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 October 30, 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.