Couples with children: 11%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Cronat comes in at 2.3%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 506, in 240 households. In Cronat, 5.3% of households have no car. Lower than in 82% of compared French towns: 5.8% of households rent social housing (HLM).
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 Cronat
One home in 10 is a second home
The census counted 37 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cronat, 10% of its 360 homes: higher than in 88% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cronat had 563 residents at the 2012 census and 506 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Cronat’s residents are under 54.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 81 homes empty (23%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes: 23%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
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 19 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Flats make up about one in 34 here (2.9%). Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 10%, more than in 88% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Slower growth than 97% of compared French towns: Cronat changed by −10% since 2012
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −3% for the median Saône-et-Loire town, the change came in two steps: −5% from 2012 to 2017, then −5% to 2023.
Half of Cronat is over 54.7, older than 94% 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
■ Cronat 54.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 34%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. In Cronat, one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, 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 Saône-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.1 people. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone.
A median standard of living of €21,400 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.
Living standards centre on €21,400 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 92% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 35%, a higher share than 63% 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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (12%), Cronat is below 62% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Cronat, 4.5% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 68% 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 3% in Cronat and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Cronat, 47% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 78% of compared French towns
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 Cronat comes in at 24%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education make up 22% in Cronat, less than in 80% 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
Where 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Cronat has 21%. By way of comparison, 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 506 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Cronat is younger than 3 of its 4 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cronat | 54.7 | 34% | 10% | 4.5% |
| Bourbon-Lancy 4,674 · 7.4 mi | 57.2 | 39% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Decize 4,932 · 13.3 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre 2,959 · 13.8 mi | 54.3 | 34% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| La Machine 3,192 · 16.2 mi | 54.8 | 35% | 6.2% | 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 Cronat
What is the population of Cronat?
506 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (563).
How old are Cronat’s residents?
The median age is 54.7, older than 94% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cronat?
37, with occasional dwellings: 10% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cronat?
INSEE counts 23 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cronat?
€21,400 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.