A larger share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 36%
Nearly a quarter of households are headed by a manual worker, against 14% in the typical compared French town. At the same time, households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Chavanat had 137 residents in 68 households at the 2023 census. Residents aged 15 to 24: 5.8% of the total.
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 Chavanat
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 47 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chavanat, 36% of its 130 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Chavanat (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 17% of residents, against 7.6% for the median compared commune in Creuse. 16% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
An older town
Half of Chavanat’s residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 17 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.
Flats make up 2.3% in Chavanat, less than in 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
12% of households moved in less than two years ago; 22% have been in their home 30 years or more. Chavanat has more empty homes than 91% of compared French towns, at 13%. Add to that, with households without a car at 15%, Chavanat is ahead of 68% of compared French towns on that count.
Chavanat’s population changed by +8% since 2012, more than in 63% 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 change was +13% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Creuse town −5%.
A median age of 51.4: Chavanat is older than 87% 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
■ Chavanat 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 29% here and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 46% in Chavanat, more than in 87% 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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Couples with children make up about one in four here (23%).
At the median, €22,520 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.
At €22,520 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 79% of compared French towns, at 38%
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
Set against 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 7.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Chavanat. Across the comparison, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 17%, a higher share than 88% 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: 16%, above 93% of compared French towns. The median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 88% of compared French towns. On average, 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.
Chavanat sits below 99% of compared French towns for single residents (16%)
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 41%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 17% of adults out of school have no qualification in Chavanat
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
By its share of graduates of higher education (32%), Chavanat is above 55% of compared French towns. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 11th oldest 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 2 of the 3 towns around Chavanat are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chavanat | 51.4 | 29% | 36% | 17% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 9.8 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| Sainte-Feyre 2,566 · 14 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 5% | 2.4% |
| Guéret 12,955 · 15.7 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 4.5% | 8.6% |
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 Chavanat
What is the population of Chavanat?
137 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (127).
How old are Chavanat’s residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chavanat?
47, with occasional dwellings: 36% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chavanat?
INSEE counts 23 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 17% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (16%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chavanat?
€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.