Fewer households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns: 0.4%
14% of homes stand empty, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Cressat had 512 residents in 280 households at the 2023 census. Households headed by a manager or professional account for 3.6%. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 96% of compared French towns: 7.4%.
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 Cressat
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cressat, 25% of its 460 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 99% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cressat had 559 residents at the 2012 census and 512 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Cressat’s residents are under 52.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Cressat’s 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.
Second homes: 25%, a higher share than 94% 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
Flats make up 5.8%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. More households without a car than in 53% of compared French towns: 11%. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Cressat changed by −8% from 2012 to 2023, behind 95% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Creuse town −5%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −1%; 2017 to 2023, −7%.
Older than 90% of compared French towns: half of Cressat is over 52.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cressat 52.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 30%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
49% of households are one person living alone, a share 92% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 share of couples with children trails 85% of compared French towns: 17%. More single-parent households than in 83% of compared French towns: 13%. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. The average household has 1.8 people.
Half above, half below €23,130 a year in standard of living
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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,130 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 80% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 85% of compared French towns: 41%
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 Cressat comes in at 11%. On average, 32% 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).
3.1% of residents are immigrants, below 81% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Cressat comes in at 3.3%. As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
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 38% in Cressat, less than in 78% 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 account for 26%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Cressat sits below 89% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (19%)
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
25% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 8th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Older than Cressat: 1 of the 3 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cressat | 52.4 | 30% | 25% | 3.1% |
| Sainte-Feyre 2,566 · 8.8 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 5% | 2.4% |
| Guéret 12,955 · 10.8 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 4.5% | 8.6% |
| Aubusson 3,018 · 12.9 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 Cressat
What is the population of Cressat?
512 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (559).
How old are Cressat’s residents?
The median age is 52.4, older than 90% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cressat?
120, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cressat?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cressat?
€23,130 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.