Half of Châteaumeillant is over 61.6, older than 99% of compared French towns
Set against 32% in the typical compared French town, 57% of households are headed by a retired person in Châteaumeillant. Couples with children make up about one in 12 here (8.3%). Flats are rarer here than in 92% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 1,629, in 840 households.
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 Châteaumeillant
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 190 second homes and occasional dwellings in Châteaumeillant, 14% of its 1,320 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 95% 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 Châteaumeillant’s residents are under 61.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 43% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 17% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Châteaumeillant had 2,002 residents at the 2012 census and 1,629 in 2023, down 19%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 290 homes empty (22%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châteaumeillant: 22% of homes stand empty, above 99% 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
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 14% of households have no car here. About one in 18: that is how common households in social housing are in Châteaumeillant (5.7%). Second homes are more common here than in 91% of compared French towns. Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Slower growth than 99% of compared French towns: Châteaumeillant changed by −19% since 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cher town −4%. The first five years brought −11%; the six to 2023, −8%.
Châteaumeillant sits above 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (43%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châteaumeillant 61.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 7.1% of residents are 15 to 24 in Châteaumeillant. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 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.
More one-person households than 91% of compared French towns: 48%
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 average 1.8 people. Châteaumeillant has fewer single-parent households than 58% of compared French towns, at 9.5%. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €22,570 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.
The median standard of living in Châteaumeillant is €22,570 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3% in Châteaumeillant, less than in 97% 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 share of households headed by a manual worker trails 64% of compared French towns: 12%. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 69% of compared French towns: 4.5%
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 Cher has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 69% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%. Foreign nationals make up about one in 30 here (3.3%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
40% of residents 15 and over are married, below 71% 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
By its share of single residents (23%), Châteaumeillant is below 71% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Châteaumeillant
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, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Châteaumeillant has 31%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
2nd highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,629 to 2,582
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).
Châteaumeillant 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châteaumeillant | 61.6 | 43% | 14% | 4.5% |
| La Châtre 4,037 · 10.3 mi | 56.2 | 39% | 6.5% | 4.6% |
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 Châteaumeillant
What is the population of Châteaumeillant?
1,629 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% fewer than in 2012 (2,002).
How old are Châteaumeillant’s residents?
The median age is 61.6, older than 99% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 43% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châteaumeillant?
190, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châteaumeillant?
INSEE counts 73 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 53 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châteaumeillant?
€22,570 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.