Fewer households without a car than 98% of compared French towns: 3.1%
7.4% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Plou is home to 527 residents in 230 households, by the 2023 Census. Across Plou, 6.5% of households are single parents. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% 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.
Slower than most: +1% since 2012, behind 64% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +2%, and from 2017 to 2023 ±0%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Cher town −4%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 61% of compared French towns, at 20%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Plou 43.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Plou is 43.8, lower than in 51% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Plou
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 2.3 people. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Higher than in 54% of compared French towns: 26% of households are couples with children.
In Plou, 6.9% of homes are second homes, more than in 83% 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
7% of households moved in less than two years ago; 29% have been in their home 30 years or more. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the same time, with empty homes at 9.8%, Plou is ahead of 78% of compared French towns on that count.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €27,730 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 midpoint of living standards here is €27,730 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 68% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 37%, a higher share than 74% 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 13%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. For Plou, the census puts households headed by a manual worker at 17%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Plou ranks below 99% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.1%
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.
In Plou, 0.4% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Plou sits below 98% of compared French towns for single residents (18%)
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 is 48%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 13% of adults out of school have no qualification in Plou
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
36% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Ranked by age, 16th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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.
Plou is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plou | 43.8 | 20% | 6.9% | 1.1% |
| Saint-Florent-sur-Cher 6,463 · 4.8 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 3% | 6.7% |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin 3,681 · 8.5 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 0.6% | 4.3% |
| Mehun-sur-Yèvre 6,380 · 9 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 2.1% | 7.4% |
| Issoudun 11,159 · 9.1 mi | 52 | 30% | 3.1% | 7.7% |
| Trouy 4,055 · 10 mi | 49.2 | 25% | 1% | 3.2% |
| Saint-Doulchard 9,647 · 11.5 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 0.8% | 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 Plou
What is the population of Plou?
527 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (520).
How old are Plou’s residents?
The median age is 43.8, younger than 51% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Plou?
19, with occasional dwellings: 6.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Plou?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Plou?
€27,730 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.