Households in social housing make up 2.4% in Charix, less than in 96% of compared French towns
4.8% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 14%, fewer than in 80% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 280 residents in 130 households. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 40%.
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 Charix
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 26 second homes and occasional dwellings in Charix, 15% of its 180 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 92% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 27 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More empty homes than 95% of compared French towns: 15%
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
Against a figure of 2.1% in the typical compared French town, the share of second homes in Charix comes in at 15%. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
From 2012 to 2023, 74% of compared French towns grew faster than Charix: −1%
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 +13% for the median Ain town, the change came in two steps: +1% from 2012 to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
A median age of 47: Charix is older than 69% 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
■ Charix 47. The median compared French town: 44.
Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 11% in Charix. At 21%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in 55% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 8%, a lower share than 80% of compared French towns
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 2.2 people. On the census count, nearly a third of households are one person living alone. Few places have so few couples with children: 24% here, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €29,460 a year to live on
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 €29,460 a year: higher than in 81% of compared French towns.
12% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 64% 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
Where nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Charix has 8%. For households headed by a manual worker, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Charix sits above 68% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (6.8%)
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 7.9% in Charix. That is higher than in 59% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Above 59% of compared French towns: 44% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Compared with other places, single residents are common here: 26%, more than in 55% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 85% of compared French towns: 13%
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
38% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Every neighbor is younger than Charix
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charix | 47 | 21% | 15% | 7.9% |
| Nantua 3,416 · 4.3 mi | 42.3 | 23% | 3.6% | 27% |
| Bellignat 3,525 · 4.9 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.7% | 26% |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 5.1 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 2.2% | 23% |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 5.3 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.1% | 33% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 6.7 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 8 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 2.9% | 21% |
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 Charix
What is the population of Charix?
280 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (283).
How old are Charix’s residents?
The median age is 47, older than 69% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Charix?
26, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Charix?
INSEE counts 22 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.9% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (6.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Charix?
€29,460 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 October 30, 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.