Older than 93% of compared French towns: half of Chard is over 54
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Chard’s population at 206, in 87 households. 5.6% of households are single parents. Here 4.9% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%.
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 Chard
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 38 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chard, 26% of its 150 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 97% 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 Chard’s residents are under 54 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 21 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 94% of compared French towns: 26% of homes are second homes
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
One household in 17 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. More empty homes than in 95% of compared French towns: 15%. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Across Chard, 5.9% of households have no car.
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
The years 2012 to 2017 brought +4%; 2017 to 2023, −2%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Creuse town −5%.
Chard ranks below 93% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 7.9%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chard 54. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Chard has 29%. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
Chard ranks above 64% of compared French towns on couples with children: 28%
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
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, a third of households are one person living alone here. Average household size: 2.4 people. The usual figure: 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €24,870 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 €24,870 a year: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 80% of compared French towns: 5.6%
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 retired person trails three quarters of compared French towns: 28%. By contrast, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker, a higher share than in 67% of compared French towns. Households headed by a manager or professional make up 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 7.9%, a higher share than 60% 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.
Foreign nationals account for 4%. Across the comparison, 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.
Chard sits above 93% of compared French towns for married residents (51%)
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Chard has 23%. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Chard
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
Adults with no qualification make up 14%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 206 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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).
Chard and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chard | 54 | 29% | 26% | 7.9% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 15.4 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.5% | 6.6% |
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 Chard
What is the population of Chard?
206 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (203).
How old are Chard’s residents?
The median age is 54, older than 93% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chard?
38, with occasional dwellings: 26% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chard?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.9% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chard?
€24,870 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.