1% of households have no car, below 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Orcenais has 32%. The town is home to 239 residents in 110 households, by the 2023 Census. Census figures put one-person households at 28% locally. More second homes than in 79% of compared French towns: 5.7%.
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 Orcenais
Empty homes
The census found 25 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Orcenais had 256 residents at the 2012 census and 239 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −7% change since 2012: slower than 92% 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, −1% to 2017 and −6% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Cher.
Half of Orcenais is over 48.2, older than 75% 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
■ Orcenais 48.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 22% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Orcenais comes in at 25%. In Orcenais, 10% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Fewer couples with children than 83% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Single-parent households make up 8.7%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
18% of homes stand empty, a share 98% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 in social housing is 20% in Orcenais and 12% in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 26% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 11% (under two years). Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A median of €23,660 a year per consumption unit
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 Orcenais is €23,660 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 75% of compared French towns.
Orcenais sits below 88% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (4.7%)
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 retired person make up 37%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Orcenais, 2.9% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 66% 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 median compared commune in Cher has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 56% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Locally, 5.8% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 40% of residents 15 and over are married in Orcenais
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
By its share of single residents (23%), Orcenais is below 68% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 11%, 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
Where 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Orcenais has 22%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 239 to 2,582 people, the 15th 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).
Every neighbor is older than Orcenais
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orcenais | 48.2 | 25% | 5.7% | 5.8% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 4.6 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
| Dun-sur-Auron 3,524 · 13.9 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 Orcenais
What is the population of Orcenais?
239 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (256).
How old are Orcenais’ residents?
The median age is 48.2, older than 75% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Orcenais?
8, with occasional dwellings: 5.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Orcenais?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.8% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Orcenais?
€23,660 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.