Flats make up 6.6% in Ruch, less than in 93% of compared French towns
The figure for second homes is 8.5% in Ruch and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 539, in 250 households. Households without a car: 4.5% of the total. Half of the town’s residents are over 47.6, older than in 73% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Gironde 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 Ruch
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ruch had 598 residents at the 2012 census and 539 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Ruch has changed by −10%, slower than 97% 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 same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Gironde town +16%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was ±0%; from 2017 to 2023, −10%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 62% of compared French towns: 10%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ruch 47.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 21%, below nearly three fifths of compared French towns. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 14% in Ruch, more than in 92% 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 Gironde median and the France median
Living alone · share
21% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. For Ruch, the census puts one-person households at 32%. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%.
Empty homes make up 10% in Ruch, more than in 82% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €22,630 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 median standard of living in Ruch is €22,630 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 27%, a lower share than 77% 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
6% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Few places have so few households headed by a manual worker: 9.9% here, fewer than in 77% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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).
Ruch ranks below 76% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.7%
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.
For Ruch, the census puts foreign nationals at 3.5%. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
In Ruch, 22% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 76% 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
In Ruch, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 57% 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
More adults with no qualification than in 53% of compared French towns: 20%. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 539 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Ruch, 1 of 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruch | 47.6 | 21% | 8.5% | 3.7% |
| Castillon-la-Bataille 3,344 · 5.5 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 1.9% | 19% |
| Saint-Quentin-de-Baron 2,713 · 12.7 mi | 35.3 | 9.5% | 1.2% | 4.5% |
| Port-Sainte-Foy-et-Ponchapt 2,520 · 12.9 mi | 55.2 | 36% | 5.9% | 8.9% |
| La Réole 4,487 · 13.2 mi | 44.7 | 22% | 1.9% | 12% |
| Sainte-Foy-la-Grande 2,507 · 13.3 mi | 46.9 | 31% | 2.7% | 21% |
| Libourne 25,036 · 13.6 mi | 44 | 23% | 3% | 12% |
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 Ruch
What is the population of Ruch?
539 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (598).
How old are Ruch’s residents?
The median age is 47.6, older than 73% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ruch?
26, with occasional dwellings: 8.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ruch?
INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ruch?
€22,630 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.