Talais is older than 95% of compared French towns: a median age of 55.8
By its share of flats (4%), Talais is below 97% of compared French towns. There were 380 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 764 residents. Locally, 54% of households are headed by a retired person. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% 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 Talais
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 160 second homes and occasional dwellings in Talais, 28% of its 580 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Talais’ residents are under 55.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Talais sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (28%)
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
7.8% of households arrived within the last two years, while 19% have stayed 30 years or more. Fewer households without a car than in 81% of compared French towns: 6%. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes make up 7%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Growth of +12% since 2012 puts Talais ahead of 75% 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
In two steps, +8% to 2017 and +3% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +16% in Gironde.
6.6% of residents are 15 to 24, below 98% 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
■ Talais 55.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 36% of residents are 65 or over in Talais. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 20% in Talais, less than in 73% 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
There are 2 people in the average household. As a reference point, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Talais has more single-parent households than 64% of compared French towns, at 11%. Add to that, 36% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €23,590 a year per consumption unit
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 €23,590 a year: lower than in 76% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 1.4%
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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (6.8%), Talais is below 91% of compared French towns. For comparison, 9.4% of 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).
Fewer immigrants than 78% of compared French towns: 3.4%
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 foreign nationals is 2.9% in Talais and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Gironde has 5.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 78% of compared French towns. Typically, 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 91% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 46% of residents 15 and over are married here. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
14% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 98% 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
22% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (764 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Talais 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talais | 55.8 | 36% | 28% | 3.4% |
| Soulac-sur-Mer 3,100 · 3.9 mi | 63.7 | 47% | 68% | 2.8% |
| Vendays-Montalivet 2,838 · 7.7 mi | 59 | 37% | 64% | 5.3% |
| Meschers-sur-Gironde 3,180 · 8.3 mi | 66.1 | 53% | 50% | 3.6% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Didonne 5,092 · 9.9 mi | 67.3 | 55% | 67% | 2.7% |
| Royan 19,425 · 11.2 mi | 64.5 | 49% | 43% | 4.4% |
| Semussac 2,585 · 11.4 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 9.3% | 2.5% |
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 Talais
What is the population of Talais?
764 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (683).
How old are Talais’ residents?
The median age is 55.8, older than 95% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Talais?
160, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Talais?
INSEE counts 26 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Talais?
€23,590 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 9, 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.