A median age of 53.5: Chénérailles is older than 91% of compared French towns
15% of households are couples with children; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. Chénérailles had 728 residents in 390 households at the 2023 census. Here, 47% of households are headed by a retired person. On households without a car, Chénérailles sits higher than 94% of compared French towns: 28%.
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 Chénérailles
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 67 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chénérailles, 12% of its 560 homes: higher than in 89% 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 Chénérailles’ residents are under 53.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 110 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Chénérailles’ households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 45% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chénérailles ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 19%
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
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 9.3% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Chénérailles. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Flats account for 11%. Second homes are more common here than in 89% of compared French towns.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 87% 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
Here the change came as −1% to 2017, then −4% to 2023.
7.6% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 95% 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
■ Chénérailles 53.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Chénérailles, 34%. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
More one-person households than 92% of compared French towns: 49%
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: 13%, above 85% of compared French towns. For comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 1.9 people.
Median living standard: €22,450 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 €22,450 a year: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.8% in Chénérailles, less than in 94% 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
13% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in eight. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 3.8%, a lower share than 75% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Chénérailles has 3%. The median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 75% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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.
Married residents make up 37% in Chénérailles, less than in 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
Single residents make up 27%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 20%, a lower share than 86% of compared French towns
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
Higher than in 53% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 728 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).
Around Chénérailles, 1 of 3 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chénérailles | 53.5 | 34% | 12% | 3.8% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 10.8 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| Sainte-Feyre 2,566 · 13 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 5% | 2.4% |
| Guéret 12,955 · 15 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 Chénérailles
What is the population of Chénérailles?
728 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (765).
How old are Chénérailles’ residents?
The median age is 53.5, older than 91% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chénérailles?
67, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chénérailles?
INSEE counts 28 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.8% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chénérailles?
€22,450 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.