Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 0.7%
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 28% of households are headed by a manual worker in Coust. In 2023, the Census found 415 residents here, living in 180 households. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.1% locally. Couples with children are more common here than in 65% 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 Coust
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 43 second homes and occasional dwellings in Coust, 16% of its 270 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 98% 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
Coust had 456 residents at the 2012 census and 415 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 40 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 16% in Coust, more than in 92% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 10%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 28%. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 15%, more than in 95% of compared French towns. Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 6.7% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Coust.
Slower growth than 96% of compared French towns: Coust changed by −9% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Cher town −4%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −2%; 2017 to 2023, −7%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 83% of compared French towns, at 29%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Coust 46.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Coust’s residents are over 46.3, older than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 68% of compared French towns: 32%
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
On average, 2.3 people share a household. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €23,070 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.
Living standards centre on €23,070 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
In Coust, 40% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 84% 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 manager or professional is 8.1%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. On average, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Coust, 1.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 94% 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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Coust, 1%. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Coust, 21% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 82% 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
The share of married residents tops nearly three quarters of compared French towns: 46%. Typically, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 96% 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
21% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
41 French towns of 415 to 2,582 people: this is the 18th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Coust
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coust | 46.3 | 29% | 16% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 4.7 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 13.7 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
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 Coust
What is the population of Coust?
415 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (456).
How old are Coust’s residents?
The median age is 46.3, older than 65% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Coust?
43, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Coust?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Coust?
€23,070 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 October 30, 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.