Charenton-du-Cher: 18% of homes stand empty, above 98% of compared French towns
With households headed by a retired person at 48%, Charenton-du-Cher is ahead of 96% of compared French towns on that count. More one-person households than in 78% of compared French towns: 43%. At the 2023 Census, 984 people lived in the town, in 490 households. Across Charenton-du-Cher, nearly one in ten homes are second homes.
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 Charenton-du-Cher
Fewer residents than in 2012
Charenton-du-Cher had 1,100 residents at the 2012 census and 984 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 120 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Charenton-du-Cher’s residents are under 51.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −11% change since 2012: slower than 97% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −4% in Cher.
A median age of 51.6: Charenton-du-Cher is older than 88% 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
■ Charenton-du-Cher 51.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Charenton-du-Cher has 28%. On the census count, 8.9% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Charenton-du-Cher sits below 73% of compared French towns for couples with children (20%)
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
Average household size: 2 people. At 8.3%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 76% of compared French towns. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Flats: 6%, a lower share than 94% 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
Without a car: one household in nine, against 11% in the median compared French town. The comparison figure for flats is 30% in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing account for 13%. More households without a car than in 55% of compared French towns: 12%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €22,770 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.
At €22,770 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
Only 4.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Charenton-du-Cher
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 manual worker: 15% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 77% of compared French towns: 3.6%
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 2.6% of residents are foreign nationals in Charenton-du-Cher. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 39% in Charenton-du-Cher, less 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Charenton-du-Cher has 27%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Charenton-du-Cher ranks below 92% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 17%
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
In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Charenton-du-Cher, 25%. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 984 to 2,582 people, the 10th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Charenton-du-Cher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charenton-du-Cher | 51.6 | 28% | 9.2% | 3.6% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 6.8 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 11.4 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
| Sancoins 2,951 · 14.5 mi | 57.4 | 36% | 5.9% | 2% |
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 Charenton-du-Cher
What is the population of Charenton-du-Cher?
984 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (1,100).
How old are Charenton-du-Cher’s residents?
The median age is 51.6, older than 88% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Charenton-du-Cher?
62, with occasional dwellings: 9.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Charenton-du-Cher?
INSEE counts 35 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 25 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Charenton-du-Cher?
€22,770 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.