2.7% of homes are flats, below 99% of compared French towns
27% of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 2%, fewer than in 97% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 562 residents in Ruffec, living in 250 households. Single-parent households: just over a tenth of the total.
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 Ruffec
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 64 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ruffec, 19% of its 330 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 97% 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
Ruffec had 619 residents at the 2012 census and 562 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
19% of homes are second homes, a share 93% 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
Empty homes make up 4.8%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. About one in ten: that is how common households without a car are in Ruffec (10%).
Since 2012, Ruffec has changed by −9%, slower than 96% 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, −5% to 2017 and −5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −5% in Indre.
A median age of 48.6: Ruffec is older than 77% 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
■ Ruffec 48.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, 27% of residents are 65 or over here. Higher than in 51% of compared French towns: 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 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.
Ruffec ranks below 77% of compared French towns on couples with children: 19%
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
Average household size: 2.1 people. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 35%, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns. For comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Median living standard: €22,360 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 Ruffec’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,360 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 71% of compared French towns: 36%
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 5.2%, a lower share than 61% 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 median compared commune in Indre has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 61% of compared French towns. Put another way, about one in 24: 4.1% of residents are foreign nationals. For comparison, 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.
Below 86% of compared French towns: 36% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Single residents make up about one in four here (25%). On average, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Below 87% of compared French towns: 19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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 Ruffec, 25% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 562 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Ruffec
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffec | 48.6 | 27% | 19% | 5.2% |
| Le Blanc 6,164 · 5.1 mi | 52.8 | 34% | 9.2% | 4.4% |
| Argenton-sur-Creuse 4,786 · 16.4 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
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 Ruffec
What is the population of Ruffec?
562 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (619).
How old are Ruffec’s residents?
The median age is 48.6, older than 77% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ruffec?
64, with occasional dwellings: 19% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ruffec?
INSEE counts 29 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.2% of residents, and 23 foreign nationals (4.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ruffec?
€22,360 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 October 30, 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.