Economy, jobs and prices in Cher (Centre — Val de Loire, France): official figures
GDP per person was 30,000 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2024, 75% of the EU average (98% for France); 58th highest of 101 departments in France.
How big is the economy of Cher?
The local economy produced €9.7 billion of output (GDP) in 2024.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in Cher?
About 113,500 people worked in Cher in 2024 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the median income in Cher?
Half of the people living in Cher had a disposable income (living standard) below €24,730 a year per consumption unit in 2023, 4.6% below the metropolitan France median of €25,920; it ranked 31st lowest of 97 departements.
Source: INSEE · saved copyHow unequal are incomes in Cher?
The poorest tenth of the population of Cher lived on less than €13,360 a year in 2023, while the richest tenth had more than €40,320, so the top threshold was 3.0 times the bottom one (metropolitan France: 3.5).
Source: INSEE · saved copyWhere does household income come from in Cher?
Wages and salaries made up 56.4% of household disposable income in Cher in 2023 (8.6 points lower than the metropolitan average of 65.0%), and self-employment income a further 5.3%.
Source: INSEE · saved copyWhat is the main industry in Cher?
The largest part of the economy of Cher in 2024 was public administration, education, health and other services, at 25.2% of gross value added, followed by finance, property and business services (24.6%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is Cher?
Factories, mines and energy produced 23.6% of the value added in Cher in 2024, against 13.7% for France.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of Cher growing?
Gross value added rose from €7.0 billion in 2015 to €8.6 billion in 2024 in current prices, an increase of 24% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat jobs do people do in Cher?
Of the 113,500 jobs located in Cher in 2024, 39% in public services, education, health and other services, 15% in industry and 5.1% in farming, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in Cher?
The number of people working in Cher rose by 2.1% between 2015 and 2024, to 113,500.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- Income inequality in Cher, measured by the Gini index of living standards, was 0.252 in 2023, 31st least unequal of 97 departements (metropolitan France: 0.297). Source: INSEE · saved copy
- Pensions and annuities supplied 34.7% of disposable income in Cher in 2023, 22nd highest of 97 departements (metropolitan France: 27.2%). Source: INSEE · saved copy
- Income from savings, property and other assets accounted for 10.1% of household income in Cher in 2023, while direct taxes took the equivalent of 14.1% (metropolitan France: 12.2% and 16.7%). Source: INSEE · saved copy
- Unemployment benefits represented 1.9% of disposable income in Cher in 2023, compared with 2.4% across metropolitan France. Source: INSEE · saved copy
How Cher compares with other departments in France
Median living standard (euros a year per consumption unit) (2023)
Cher ranks 67 of 97, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Median living standard (euros a year per consumption unit) |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | Lot | €24,740 |
| 65 | Meuse | €24,740 |
| 66 | Haute-Vienne | €24,740 |
| 67 | Cher | €24,730 |
| 68 | Yonne | €24,590 |
| 69 | Allier | €24,430 |
| 70 | Tarn | €24,420 |
Gini index of living standards (2023)
Cher ranks 67 of 97, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Gini index of living standards |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | Hautes-Alpes | 0.254 |
| 65 | Pas-de-Calais | 0.254 |
| 66 | Creuse | 0.253 |
| 67 | Cher | 0.252 |
| 68 | Vienne | 0.252 |
| 69 | Orne | 0.252 |
| 70 | Allier | 0.251 |
Pensions as a share of disposable income (%) (2023)
Cher ranks 22 of 97, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Pensions as a share of disposable income (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Cantal | 35.1% |
| 20 | Landes | 35.0% |
| 21 | Haute-Marne | 35.0% |
| 22 | Cher | 34.7% |
| 23 | Loir-et-Cher | 34.5% |
| 24 | Aveyron | 34.5% |
| 25 | Saône-et-Loire | 34.5% |
Wages as a share of disposable income (%) (2023)
Cher ranks 65 of 97, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Wages as a share of disposable income (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Charente | 56.6% |
| 63 | Saône-et-Loire | 56.6% |
| 64 | Yonne | 56.4% |
| 65 | Cher | 56.4% |
| 66 | Gard | 56.2% |
| 67 | Meuse | 55.8% |
| 68 | Haute-Corse | 55.6% |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2024)
Cher ranks 8 of 101, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Jura | 25.3% |
| 6 | Ardèche | 24.7% |
| 7 | Charente | 23.9% |
| 8 | Cher | 23.6% |
| 9 | Haute-Saône | 23.5% |
| 10 | Drôme | 23.3% |
| 11 | Haut-Rhin | 23.1% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2024)
Cher ranks 89 of 101, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 86 | Vienne | 24.8% |
| 87 | Jura | 24.8% |
| 88 | Vosges | 24.7% |
| 89 | Cher | 24.6% |
| 90 | Seine-Maritime | 24.5% |
| 91 | Meuse | 24.1% |
| 92 | Orne | 23.2% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2024)
Cher ranks 71 of 101, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 68 | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 25.4% |
| 69 | Manche | 25.3% |
| 70 | Oise | 25.3% |
| 71 | Cher | 25.2% |
| 72 | Aube | 25.1% |
| 73 | Bas-Rhin | 25.1% |
| 74 | Loiret | 24.9% |
More on Cher: overview · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Centre — Val de Loire · France
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
- INSEE: Indicateurs sur les revenus et la pauvreté au niveau local en 2023 (Filosofi 2023, base FILOSOFI_CC), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f3822a78e3f5…)
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