21% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 85% of compared French towns don’t reach
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM); in Chalamont, 16%. On couples with children, Chalamont sits higher than 70% of compared French towns: 29%. This Ain town is home to 2,533 residents in 1,100 households, by the 2023 Census. Locally, 8.6% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Ain 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.
A +5% change since 2012: Chalamont grew faster than 53% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +2%, and from 2017 to 2023 +3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ain town +13%.
A median age of 41.2: Chalamont is younger than 72% 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
■ Chalamont 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 66% of compared French towns: 20%. Put another way, about one in nine: 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Chalamont ranks above 70% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 11%
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 Ain median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.2 people. Higher than in 56% of compared French towns: 36% of households are one person living alone. As a reference point, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
34% of homes are flats, a share 56% 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
14% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 11% moved in within the last two years. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 2.4%, more than in 55% of compared French towns. On empty homes, 6.3% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €26,960 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 median standard of living in Chalamont is €26,960 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 61% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 9.0% of the population.
28% of households are headed by a retired person, below 73% 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: nearly a tenth of the total. Set beside that, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 77% of compared French towns: 3.6% of residents are immigrants
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.
Foreign nationals: 2%, below 79% of compared French towns. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 63% of compared French towns: 24% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Few places have so few married residents: 42% here, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Chalamont ranks below 67% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 25%
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
Adults with no qualification come to 19% in Chalamont, about two in ten. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th youngest of 41 French towns of 2,507 to 2,584 people
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).
3 of 6 neighbors are older than Chalamont
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalamont | 41.2 | 20% | 2.4% | 3.6% |
| Villieu-Loyes-Mollon 3,849 · 5.7 mi | 41.1 | 17% | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Meximieux 8,247 · 6.2 mi | 39 | 18% | 2.2% | 7.5% |
| Villars-les-Dombes 5,163 · 6.6 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 2.8% | 7% |
| Ambronay 2,841 · 8.8 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 2.9% | 3.3% |
| Ambérieu-en-Bugey 15,934 · 9.1 mi | 37.5 | 18% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Pont-d'Ain 2,843 · 9.1 mi | 41.8 | 21% | 4.1% | 8.7% |
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 Chalamont
What is the population of Chalamont?
2,533 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (2,402).
How old are Chalamont’s residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 72% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chalamont?
29, with occasional dwellings: 2.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chalamont?
INSEE counts 91 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chalamont?
€26,960 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 4, 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.