A median age of 53.3: Couargues is older than 91% of compared French towns
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 1.7% of homes are flats in Couargues. At the 2023 Census Couargues was home to 194 people in 100 households. On the census count, 43% of households are headed by a retired person. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Couargues
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 22 second homes and occasional dwellings in Couargues, 14% of its 170 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 ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 homes empty (26%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Couargues’ residents are under 53.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Couargues ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 26%
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 3.8%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. 14% of homes are second homes. In the typical compared French town, empty homes come to 6.7%.
Slower growth than 76% of compared French towns: Couargues changed by −2% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +4%, then −5% to 2023.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 4.4% in Couargues, less than in 99% 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
■ Couargues 53.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 34%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 92% of compared French towns, at 14%
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
Here 4.8% of households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%. Typically, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Census figures put one-person households at 38% in Couargues.
€25,860 a year: the median standard of living
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 €25,860 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 51% of compared French towns.
Below 97% of compared French towns: 4.7% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 4.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. Elsewhere, 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% of residents are immigrants, below 92% 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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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.
21% of residents 15 and over are single, below 88% 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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 36% in Couargues. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Below 72% of compared French towns: 24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
Here, 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Ranked by age, 7th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Couargues, 2 of 3 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couargues | 53.3 | 34% | 14% | 2% |
| La Charité-sur-Loire 4,705 · 7.8 mi | 54 | 36% | 6.7% | 5.7% |
| Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire 9,733 · 8.9 mi | 54.4 | 36% | 8.3% | 6.7% |
| Guérigny 2,505 · 17.9 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.8% | 1.5% |
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 Couargues
What is the population of Couargues?
194 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (197).
How old are Couargues’ residents?
The median age is 53.3, older than 91% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Couargues?
22, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Couargues?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Couargues?
€25,860 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.