Couches is older than 94% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.8
43% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Couches’s 560 households held 1,213 residents at the 2023 Census. For Couches, the census puts single-parent households at 7.1%. Few places have so few households in social housing: 7.5% here, fewer than in nearly three quarters of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Saône-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 Couches
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 140 second homes and occasional dwellings in Couches, 16% of its 850 homes: higher than in 92% 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
Couches had 1,475 residents at the 2012 census and 1,213 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Couches’ residents are under 54.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 150 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of empty homes than 98% of compared French towns, at 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
In the last two years, 8% of households moved in; at the other end, 25% have stayed 30 years or more. Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Couches has more second homes than 92% of compared French towns, at 16%. The share of flats trails 77% of compared French towns: 15%.
−18% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −8%, then −10% to 2023. Over those years, the median Saône-et-Loire town changed −3% and the median compared French town +5%.
6.8% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 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
■ Couches 54.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 33%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 76% of compared French towns: 20% of households are couples with children
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 Saône-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2 people. For comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The census found that 36% of households are one person living alone in Couches.
Standard of living at the median: €26,080 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €26,080 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 51% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 4.4% in Couches, less than in 90% 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
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker here. By way of 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).
Immigrants make up 7.4% of Couches’ residents
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 56% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Saône-et-Loire has 6.9%. About one in 14: that is how common immigrants are in Couches (7.4%). At 4.8%, foreign nationals sit close to the figure 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 single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 17%
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 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Couches comes in at 46%. For comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Couches: 33% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 60% 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
Here, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,213 to 2,582 people), the 7th 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).
Couches is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couches | 54.8 | 33% | 16% | 7.4% |
| Le Breuil 3,538 · 6.5 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 1.7% | 7.5% |
| Le Creusot 20,509 · 8.2 mi | 48.4 | 30% | 1.9% | 14% |
| Torcy 2,678 · 8.9 mi | 46.1 | 28% | 1% | 17% |
| Chagny 5,350 · 9.1 mi | 48 | 25% | 1.6% | 5.8% |
| Montchanin 4,976 · 9.7 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 2.4% | 7.8% |
| Givry 3,598 · 10 mi | 51.2 | 28% | 4.1% | 2.4% |
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 Couches
What is the population of Couches?
1,213 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (1,475).
How old are Couches’ residents?
The median age is 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Couches?
140, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Couches?
INSEE counts 89 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.4% of residents, and 58 foreign nationals (4.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Couches?
€26,080 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.