A median age of 54.6: Sarzay is older than 93% of compared French towns
The share of flats trails 99% of compared French towns: 2.2%. For Sarzay, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 41%. Lower than in 98% of compared French towns: 1.3% of households rent social housing (HLM). Census day 2023: 301 residents and 150 households here.
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 Sarzay
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sarzay, 14% of its 220 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Sarzay’s residents are under 54.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sarzay had 325 residents at the 2012 census and 301 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Sarzay sits above 99% of compared French towns for empty homes (19%)
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
Second homes make up 14%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 8.9% of households have no car, or about one in 11.
−7% since 2012: slower than 94% 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 change was −6% from 2012 to 2017 and −2% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Indre town −5%.
6.7% 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
■ Sarzay 54.6. The median compared French town: 44.
28% of Sarzay’s residents are 65 or older, against 30% in the median Indre town and 22% in the median compared French town; 14% are under 18. Typically, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre 53.6%, France 51.8%.
Below 93% of compared French towns: 6.5% of households are single parents
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
On average, 2 people share a household. Higher than in 61% of compared French towns: 27% of households are couples with children. Elsewhere, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; Sarzay has 37%.
Median living standard: €23,360 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 residents live in households above €23,360 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 23%, a higher share than 92% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For households headed by a manual worker, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Sarzay, 2.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 86% 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.
Here 2.3% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Immigrants make up 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.
Sarzay sits below 97% of compared French towns for single residents (19%)
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
The share of married residents tops 93% of compared French towns: 50%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Graduates of higher education make up 21% in Sarzay, less than in 82% 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
23% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 301 to 2,582
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.
1 in 4 nearby towns have a higher median age than Sarzay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarzay | 54.6 | 28% | 14% | 2.6% |
| La Châtre 4,037 · 4.1 mi | 56.2 | 39% | 6.5% | 4.6% |
| Ardentes 3,715 · 11 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 4% | 2.4% |
| Le Poinçonnet 5,855 · 15.2 mi | 53.2 | 30% | 1.9% | 4.4% |
| Châteauroux 42,963 · 17.6 mi | 45.2 | 26% | 2.7% | 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 Sarzay
What is the population of Sarzay?
301 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (325).
How old are Sarzay’s residents?
The median age is 54.6, older than 93% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sarzay?
31, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sarzay?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sarzay?
€23,360 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 November 8, 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.