A median age of 58: Châtelus-Malvaleix is older than 97% of compared French towns
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 15% of households are couples with children here. On the census count, 43% of households are headed by a retired person. 12% of homes are flats, a lower share than in 83% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Châtelus-Malvaleix’s population at 545, in 270 households.
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 Châtelus-Malvaleix
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 53 second homes and occasional dwellings in Châtelus-Malvaleix, 13% of its 410 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 94% 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 Châtelus-Malvaleix’s residents are under 58 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 85 homes empty (21%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Châtelus-Malvaleix’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 32% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes: 21%, a higher share than 99% 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
In Châtelus-Malvaleix, 13% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 16: 6.2% of households rent social housing (HLM). On households without a car, Châtelus-Malvaleix sits lower than 61% of compared French towns: 8.8%.
A −6% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Creuse town −5%. The first five years brought −4%; the six to 2023, −2%.
Only 5.5% of residents are 15 to 24 in Châtelus-Malvaleix
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châtelus-Malvaleix 58. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Châtelus-Malvaleix has 37%. The wider picture: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households: 50%, a higher share than 94% 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
13% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). On average, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €22,520 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,520 a year: lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
5.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 80% 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
About one in seven: that is how common households headed by a manual worker are in Châtelus-Malvaleix (15%). Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 74% of compared French towns: 3.9%
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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 3.3% of residents are foreign nationals here. The median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 74% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 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.
Single residents: 22%, a lower share than 82% 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
The share of married residents is 38%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Below 93% of compared French towns: 17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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 24%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 545 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Châtelus-Malvaleix is older 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtelus-Malvaleix | 58 | 37% | 13% | 3.9% |
| Guéret 12,955 · 11.5 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 4.5% | 8.6% |
| Sainte-Feyre 2,566 · 11.6 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 5% | 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 Châtelus-Malvaleix
What is the population of Châtelus-Malvaleix?
545 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (582).
How old are Châtelus-Malvaleix’s residents?
The median age is 58, older than 97% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtelus-Malvaleix?
53, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtelus-Malvaleix?
INSEE counts 21 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtelus-Malvaleix?
€22,520 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.