Couples with children make up 15% in Châteauroux, less than in 92% of compared French towns
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, 26% of residents are 65 or over here. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 36%. Households without a car are more common here than in 87% of compared French towns. Châteauroux is home to 42,963 residents in 22,170 households, by the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Indre 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 Châteauroux
Many people living alone
50% of Châteauroux’s households are one person: higher than in 93% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Social housing
28% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 23% rent privately and 47% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Châteauroux had 44,960 residents at the 2012 census and 42,963 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 3,400 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châteauroux changed by −4% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 86% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −3%; from 2017 to 2023, −2%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Indre town −5%.
Half of Châteauroux is over 45.2, older than 58% 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
■ Châteauroux 45.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12%, against 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre 53.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 93% of compared French towns: 50% of households are one person living alone
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 median and the France median
Living alone · share
With single-parent households at 12%, Châteauroux is ahead of 74% of compared French towns on that count. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
13% of homes stand empty, a share 91% of compared French towns don’t reach
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: 28%, above 90% of compared French towns. Here, half of homes are flats. Second homes are more common here than in 58% of compared French towns. For empty homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
€22,710 a year is the median standard of living here
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 Châteauroux is €22,710 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 23.5% of residents are below the poverty line.
Châteauroux sits below 54% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (13%)
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
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in 12. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Châteauroux ranks above 78% of compared French towns on immigrants: 12%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Châteauroux, 9.4%. As a yardstick, 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 lower share of married residents than 88% of compared French towns, at 35%
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
33% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
23% of adults out of school have no qualification, a share 69% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Châteauroux has 28%. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 6th oldest of 41 French towns of 40,389 to 45,702 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.
Ages run from 32.4 in Stains to 53.6 in Sète.
Every neighbor is older than Châteauroux
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châteauroux | 45.2 | 26% | 2.7% | 12% |
| Déols 7,600 · 2 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 1.3% | 5.3% |
| Le Poinçonnet 5,855 · 2.5 mi | 53.2 | 30% | 1.9% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Maur 3,537 · 2.6 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
| Ardentes 3,715 · 7.3 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 4% | 2.4% |
| Villedieu-sur-Indre 2,583 · 8.1 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 3.2% | 2.5% |
| Levroux 2,797 · 12.8 mi | 52 | 31% | 5.3% | 1.8% |
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 Châteauroux
What is the population of Châteauroux?
42,963 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (44,960).
How old are Châteauroux’s residents?
The median age is 45.2, older than 58% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châteauroux?
710, with occasional dwellings: 2.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châteauroux?
INSEE counts 5,130 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 4,040 foreign nationals (9.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châteauroux?
€22,710 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 23.5% 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.