Fewer flats than 97% of compared French towns: 3.8%
Households headed by a manual worker: 32% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 91% of compared French towns. Le Chautay counted 256 residents and 120 households at the 2023 Census. 7.7% of homes are second homes.
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 Chautay
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Chautay had 271 residents at the 2012 census and 256 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 19 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.
Le Chautay’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 90% 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
In two steps, +8% to 2017 and −13% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Cher.
More residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns: 27%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Chautay 45.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.7, Le Chautay is older than 61% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 79% of compared French towns: 19%
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
With one-person households at 31%, Le Chautay is behind 71% of compared French towns on that count. Households here average 2.2 people each. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%.
Le Chautay: 13% of homes stand empty, above 91% 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
28% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 4.4% moved in within the last two years. Households without a car are rarer here than in 67% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 12%, the share of households in social housing is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €23,300 a year to live on
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,300 a year: lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manager or professional than 71% of compared French towns, at 14%
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 census found that 31% of households are headed by a retired person in Le Chautay. 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).
2.1% of residents are immigrants, below 91% 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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.8% of residents are foreign nationals in Le Chautay. The wider picture: 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.
41% of residents 15 and over are married, below 66% 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
Single residents account for 25%. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
In Le Chautay, 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 84% 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
Le Chautay has more adults with no qualification than 57% of compared French towns, at 20%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
20th highest median age among 41 French towns of 256 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.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Le Chautay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Chautay | 45.7 | 27% | 7.7% | 2.1% |
| La Guerche-sur-l'Aubois 3,151 · 2.2 mi | 51.2 | 32% | 6.8% | 1.9% |
| Marzy 3,623 · 5.3 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 1.5% | 4.5% |
| Fourchambault 3,992 · 5.8 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 1.2% | 6.3% |
| Garchizy 3,648 · 6.9 mi | 45 | 23% | 1.4% | 3.9% |
| Varennes-Vauzelles 9,146 · 8.4 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Nevers 33,085 · 8.4 mi | 45.5 | 26% | 3.5% | 14% |
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 Chautay
What is the population of Le Chautay?
256 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (271).
How old are Le Chautay’s residents?
The median age is 45.7, older than 61% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Chautay?
12, with occasional dwellings: 7.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Chautay?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Chautay?
€23,300 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.