Flats: 0.9%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
The figure for households in social housing is 2.6% in Barrou and 12% in the typical compared French town. This Indre-et-Loire town had 478 residents in 230 households at the 2023 census. Here, 4.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional. With a median age of 50, Barrou is older than 83% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Indre-et-Loire 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 Barrou
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 54 second homes and occasional dwellings in Barrou, 17% of its 320 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 98% 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
Barrou had 512 residents at the 2012 census and 478 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 92% of compared French towns: 17%
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
One household in 10 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
−7% since 2012: slower than 92% 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
The median Indre-et-Loire town changed +5% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −8% and the next six +2%.
30% of residents are 65 or over, a share 85% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Barrou 50. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.7%, Barrou is behind 69% of compared French towns on that count. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre-et-Loire 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
37% of households are one person living alone, a share 59% 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 Indre-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for single-parent households is 11% in Barrou and 10% in the typical compared French town. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Average household size: 2.1 people.
Median standard of living: €24,010 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 Barrou’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,010 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Above 98% of compared French towns: 52% of households are headed by a retired person
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 manual worker make up about one in seven here (15%). 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).
2.9% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 83% 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 foreign nationals is 2.5% in Barrou and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. 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.
Fewer married residents than 66% of compared French towns: 41%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Barrou comes in at 27%. To put it in context, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 99% of compared French towns: 13%
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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 89% of compared French towns: 29%. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 14th 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).
Nearby, 2 of 5 towns have older populations than Barrou
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrou | 50 | 30% | 17% | 2.9% |
| Descartes 3,369 · 8.5 mi | 56.2 | 37% | 3% | 2.5% |
| Dangé-Saint-Romain 2,959 · 9 mi | 51.7 | 28% | 2.3% | 2.8% |
| Châtellerault 31,003 · 11.3 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 2.7% | 8.7% |
| Thuré 2,765 · 14.2 mi | 50 | 27% | 3.7% | 2.4% |
| Naintré 5,964 · 15.1 mi | 47.6 | 26% | 1.2% | 4.7% |
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 Barrou
What is the population of Barrou?
478 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (512).
How old are Barrou’s residents?
The median age is 50, older than 83% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barrou?
54, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barrou?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barrou?
€24,010 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.