A higher share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns, at 27%
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 127 residents in Gardefort, living in 64 households. Here, 4.6% of households have no car. Residents aged 15 to 24: 7%, below 97% 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 Gardefort
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 29 second homes and occasional dwellings in Gardefort, 27% of its 110 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Gardefort had 143 residents at the 2012 census and 127 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Gardefort’s residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 14 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 90% of compared French towns: 13% of homes stand empty
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
In the last two years, 7.7% of households moved in; at the other end, 23% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Gardefort’s population moved −11% on 2012, less than in 98% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cher town −4%. The first five years brought −1%; the six to 2023, −11%.
Half of Gardefort is over 52, older than 89% 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
■ Gardefort 52. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 25% of residents are 65 or over in Gardefort.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 64% of compared French towns, at 38%
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 2 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. 23% of households are couples with children; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%.
Median living standard: €25,310 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 €25,310 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 31%, a lower share than 60% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. 15% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 81% of compared French towns: 3.1%
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.
2.3% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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.
In Gardefort, 39% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 75% 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
26% of residents 15 and over are single, or about one in four. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Only 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Gardefort
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
Locally, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
9th highest median age among 41 French towns of 127 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
A younger town than 2 of the 3 around it: Gardefort
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardefort | 52 | 25% | 27% | 3.1% |
| La Charité-sur-Loire 4,705 · 10.6 mi | 54 | 36% | 6.7% | 5.7% |
| Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire 9,733 · 11.1 mi | 54.4 | 36% | 8.3% | 6.7% |
| Avord 2,909 · 17.6 mi | 32.5 | 11% | 0.9% | 3.7% |
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 Gardefort
What is the population of Gardefort?
127 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (143).
How old are Gardefort’s residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gardefort?
29, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gardefort?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gardefort?
€25,310 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.