A median age of 57: Chambon-Sainte-Croix is older than 96% of compared French towns
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 89 residents in Chambon-Sainte-Croix, living in 43 households. 2.7% of homes are flats, or about one in 37. The share of one-person households is 38%, against 35% in the typical compared French town.
Throughout this page, the Creuse 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 Chambon-Sainte-Croix
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 26 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chambon-Sainte-Croix, 33% of its 79 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Chambon-Sainte-Croix’s residents are under 57 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 10 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.
Chambon-Sainte-Croix ranks above 95% of compared French towns on second homes: 33%
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
Turnover: 5% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 20% have lived in their home 30 years or more. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Meanwhile, 13% of homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%.
−1% since 2012: slower than 74% 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 −17%, and from 2017 to 2023 +19%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Creuse town −5%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 40%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chambon-Sainte-Croix 57. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
25% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 51% 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 Creuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.1 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 38% in Chambon-Sainte-Croix, more than in 76% 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
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Chambon-Sainte-Croix comes in at 13%. The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Chambon-Sainte-Croix: 8.5% of residents are foreign nationals, above 76% 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 figure for immigrants is 9.8% in Chambon-Sainte-Croix and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in 69% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%. As a yardstick, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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 Chambon-Sainte-Croix, 16% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
43% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns, at 33%
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
Here 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 89 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Chambon-Sainte-Croix
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambon-Sainte-Croix | 57 | 40% | 33% | 9.8% |
| Guéret 12,955 · 13.5 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 4.5% | 8.6% |
| Sainte-Feyre 2,566 · 15.3 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 5% | 2.4% |
| La Souterraine 4,978 · 16 mi | 51.4 | 33% | 5.6% | 8.8% |
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 Chambon-Sainte-Croix
What is the population of Chambon-Sainte-Croix?
89 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (90).
How old are Chambon-Sainte-Croix’s residents?
The median age is 57, older than 96% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chambon-Sainte-Croix?
26, with occasional dwellings: 33% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chambon-Sainte-Croix?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (8.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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 9, 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.