A median age of 59.4: Le Châtelet is older than 98% of compared French towns
56% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Le Châtelet had 920 residents in 450 households at the 2023 Census. Census figures put single-parent households at 4.3% in the town. On flats, Le Châtelet sits lower than 87% of compared French towns: 10%.
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 Le Châtelet
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 90 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Châtelet, 13% of its 690 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 99% 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 Le Châtelet’s residents are under 59.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Châtelet had 1,083 residents at the 2012 census and 920 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 140 homes empty (21%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes: 21%, a higher share than 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
The figure for households without a car is 14% in Le Châtelet and 11% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in eight: 13% of homes are second homes. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 57% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty.
Le Châtelet changed by −15% from 2012 to 2023, behind 99% 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
Over those years, the median Cher town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −8%, then −7% to 2023.
Le Châtelet sits above 98% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (41%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Châtelet 59.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in Le Châtelet. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
About 80 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.
Couples with children make up 16% in Le Châtelet, less than in 88% 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
Here 46% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town. Households here average 1.9 people each.
A median standard of living of €20,230 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 Le Châtelet is €20,230 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 96% of compared French towns.
Le Châtelet sits below 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (2.2%)
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, 6.4% of households are headed by a manual worker here. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manager or professional come to 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Le Châtelet, 2.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 86% 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.
The share of foreign nationals trails 73% of compared French towns: 2.4%. Measured more widely, 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 Le Châtelet, 38% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 80% 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
Census figures put single residents at 26% in Le Châtelet. To put it in context, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 13%, a lower share than 99% 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 35% of adults out of school have no qualification here. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 920 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Le Châtelet is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Châtelet | 59.4 | 41% | 13% | 2.6% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 12.2 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| La Châtre 4,037 · 14.9 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 Le Châtelet
What is the population of Le Châtelet?
920 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (1,083).
How old are Le Châtelet’s residents?
The median age is 59.4, older than 98% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Châtelet?
90, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Châtelet?
INSEE counts 24 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Châtelet?
€20,230 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.