More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 27%
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher comes in at 8.1%. Flats account for 5.6%. At 5.9%, the share of second homes is higher than in four fifths of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 1,360 residents locally, living in 640 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 Châteauneuf-sur-Cher
Fewer residents than in 2012
Châteauneuf-sur-Cher had 1,481 residents at the 2012 census and 1,360 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 260 homes empty (27%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châteauneuf-sur-Cher’s population moved −8% on 2012, less than in 95% 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 first five years brought −2%; the six to 2023, −6%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cher town −4%.
Older than 84% of compared French towns: half of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher is over 50.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châteauneuf-sur-Cher 50.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 29% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
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.
Single-parent households make up 5.5% in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, less than in 98% of compared French towns
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher comes in at 21%. By contrast, 43% of households are one person living alone, more than in 79% of compared French towns. For single-parent households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 10%. A household here holds 2 people on average.
A smaller share of households in social housing than 74% of compared French towns: 7.5%
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 that moved in under two years ago: 10%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 25%. 15% of households have no car, more than in 68% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Car-free households: one in seven, where the median compared French town has 11%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €23,290 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 Châteauneuf-sur-Cher’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €23,290 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 3.9%, a lower share than 93% 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
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker here. The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, just over two in five households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, 2.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 88% 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.
1.6% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The median compared commune in Cher has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 88% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 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.
Only 40% of residents 15 and over are married in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher
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
With single residents at 23%, Châteauneuf-sur-Cher is behind nearly three quarters of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 17%, a lower share than 93% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 29% in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 13th 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.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Châteauneuf-sur-Cher
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châteauneuf-sur-Cher | 50.4 | 29% | 5.9% | 2.3% |
| Saint-Florent-sur-Cher 6,463 · 10 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 3% | 6.7% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 11.8 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
| Trouy 4,055 · 12.3 mi | 49.2 | 25% | 1% | 3.2% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 12.5 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin 3,681 · 14.3 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 0.6% | 4.3% |
| Bourges 64,186 · 16.1 mi | 42.4 | 23% | 3.2% | 11% |
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 Châteauneuf-sur-Cher
What is the population of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher?
1,360 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (1,481).
How old are Châteauneuf-sur-Cher’s residents?
The median age is 50.4, older than 84% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher?
56, with occasional dwellings: 5.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher?
€23,290 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 8, 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.