Couples with children make up 11% in La Souterraine, less than in 99% of compared French towns
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 94% of compared French towns: 14%. In 2023, the Census found 4,978 residents in La Souterraine, living in 2,670 households. Census figures put second homes at 5.6% here. Households without a car are more common here than in 90% of compared French towns.
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 La Souterraine
Many people living alone
52% of La Souterraine’s households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 36% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Souterraine had 5,437 residents at the 2012 census and 4,978 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 510 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of La Souterraine’s residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, La Souterraine has changed by −8%, slower than 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
Here the change came as −4% to 2017, then −4% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −5% in Creuse.
Half of La Souterraine is over 51.4, 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
■ La Souterraine 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In La Souterraine, a third of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% 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.
La Souterraine: 52% of households are one person living alone, above 96% 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
With single-parent households at 11%, La Souterraine is ahead of 65% of compared French towns on that count. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 1.8 people share a household.
In La Souterraine, 15% of homes stand empty, more than in 96% 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 La Souterraine, 19% of households rent social housing (HLM), beside 12% in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 20% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 15% (under two years). Higher than in 64% of compared French towns: 40% of homes are flats.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,100 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.
Half of La Souterraine’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,100 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 88% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 25.0%.
More households headed by a retired person than 79% of compared French towns: 39%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 6.9%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. For households headed by a retired person, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 32%. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 11%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.4% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 76% 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.
The figure for immigrants is 8.8% in La Souterraine and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up a share higher than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%. Set beside that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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: 34%, a lower share than 92% 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
Here a third of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
La Souterraine sits above 83% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (27%)
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
Graduates of higher education make up 22%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 4,922 to 5,033
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Laigneville (37.3), the youngest, and Gruissan (58.6), the oldest.
La Souterraine 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Souterraine | 51.4 | 33% | 5.6% | 8.8% |
| Bessines-sur-Gartempe 2,709 · 10.7 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 8.6% | 3.7% |
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 La Souterraine
What is the population of La Souterraine?
4,978 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (5,437).
How old are La Souterraine’s residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Souterraine?
190, with occasional dwellings: 5.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Souterraine?
INSEE counts 440 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.8% of residents, and 420 foreign nationals (8.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Souterraine?
€22,100 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.