Below 99% of compared French towns: 15% of households are headed by a retired person
By its share of households without a car (3.3%), Chaleins is below 98% of compared French towns. The town’s 610 households held 1,505 residents at the 2023 Census. On the census count, 14% of residents are 65 or over. Lower than in 97% of compared French towns: 23% of households are one person living alone.
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.
What stands out about the people of Chaleins
Growing fast
Chaleins had 1,160 residents at the 2012 census and 1,505 in 2023, up 30%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chaleins grew +30% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 96% 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 median Ain town changed +13% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +16% and the next six +12%.
Chaleins is younger than 80% of compared French towns: a median age of 39.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chaleins 39.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 11%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
More couples with children than 90% of compared French towns: 34%
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 typical household size is 2.5 people. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 11% of households are single parents, or about one in nine.
Fewer households in social housing than 78% of compared French towns: 6.8%
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 typical compared French town, 30% of homes are flats; in Chaleins, 20%. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. Empty homes account for 4.4%. Compared with other places, second homes are scarce here: 1.4%, fewer than in 67% of compared French towns.
€27,390 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €27,390 a year: higher than in 65% of compared French towns.
21% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 85% 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 make up about one in ten here (9.6%). Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 79% of compared French towns: 3.4% 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.
2.7% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
In Chaleins, 51% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 95% 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
21% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
In Chaleins, 28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 59% 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
Adults with no qualification make up about one in six here (18%). Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
41 French towns of 1,505 to 2,582 people: this is the 2nd youngest
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.
Chaleins is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaleins | 39.8 | 14% | 1.4% | 3.4% |
| Fareins 2,533 · 2.3 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 5.1% | 3.3% |
| Frans 2,582 · 3.3 mi | 41.1 | 16% | 0.6% | 4.2% |
| Jassans-Riottier 6,247 · 4 mi | 45 | 22% | 0.6% | 9% |
| Montmerle-sur-Saône 3,799 · 4.2 mi | 46 | 23% | 1.9% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Reneins 4,677 · 4.5 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 2.3% | 5.1% |
| Arnas 4,601 · 4.8 mi | 39.8 | 19% | 1.3% | 6.9% |
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 Chaleins
What is the population of Chaleins?
1,505 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 30% more than in 2012 (1,160).
How old are Chaleins’ residents?
The median age is 39.8, younger than 80% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chaleins?
9, with occasional dwellings: 1.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chaleins?
INSEE counts 51 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 40 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chaleins?
€27,390 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 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.