Below 99% of compared French towns: 0.4% of homes are flats
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Argenvières has 45%. At the 2023 Census, 448 people lived in the town, in 210 households. The share of households in social housing stands at 1.8%. On empty homes, Argenvières sits higher than 77% of compared French towns: 9.6%.
Throughout this page, the Cher 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 Argenvières
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 33 second homes and occasional dwellings in Argenvières, 12% of its 270 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Argenvières had 481 residents at the 2012 census and 448 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 90% of compared French towns: 12%
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 make up 5%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Slower than most: −7% since 2012, behind 93% 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 Cher town −4%.
Older than 68% of compared French towns: half of Argenvières is over 46.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Argenvières 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops three fifths of compared French towns: 24%. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 4.5%
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 Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.1 people each. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 39%, more than in 64% of compared French towns. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Couples with children make up 25%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €25,520 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 Argenvières’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,520 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 54% of compared French towns.
Argenvières: 20% of households are headed by a manual worker, above 85% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 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).
2.6% of residents are immigrants, below 86% 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.
1.9% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). The wider picture: 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.
Fewer married residents than 75% of compared French towns: 39%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Argenvières comes in at 23%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
In Argenvières, 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 91% of compared French towns
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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 17% in Argenvières and 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 18th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
5 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Argenvières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argenvières | 46.8 | 24% | 12% | 2.6% |
| La Charité-sur-Loire 4,705 · 3.5 mi | 54 | 36% | 6.7% | 5.7% |
| Garchizy 3,648 · 7.9 mi | 45 | 23% | 1.4% | 3.9% |
| Fourchambault 3,992 · 8.8 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 1.2% | 6.3% |
| Guérigny 2,505 · 9.7 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.8% | 1.5% |
| Varennes-Vauzelles 9,146 · 10.5 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Marzy 3,623 · 10.8 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 1.5% | 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 Argenvières
What is the population of Argenvières?
448 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (481).
How old are Argenvières’ residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Argenvières?
33, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Argenvières?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Argenvières?
€25,520 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.