Households without a car make up 2.1% in Châtillon-la-Palud, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Flats: 4.9%, below 96% of compared French towns. Châtillon-la-Palud counted 1,698 residents and 690 households at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing make up about one in 27 here (3.7%). Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 22%, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns.
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 +8% change since 2012: Châtillon-la-Palud grew faster than 62% 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 change was ±0% from 2012 to 2017 and +7% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Ain town +13%.
Only 17% of residents are 65 or over in Châtillon-la-Palud
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châtillon-la-Palud 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 41.2, Châtillon-la-Palud is younger than 71% of compared French towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: a tenth of the total. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
31% of households are couples with children, a share 81% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Households average 2.5 people. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 10%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Second homes: 5.5%, a higher share than 79% 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
About one in 15: that is how common empty homes are in Châtillon-la-Palud (6.7%). In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%.
The median resident lives on €28,980 a year per consumption unit
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 €28,980 a year: higher than in 78% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 84% of compared French towns: 25%
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 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Châtillon-la-Palud has 18%. Elsewhere, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 15% in the town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1% of residents are foreign nationals, below 94% 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 share of immigrants is 3%, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up a share lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% 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.
Only 20% of residents 15 and over are single in Châtillon-la-Palud
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
47% of residents 15 and over are married, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
12% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 90% 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
Graduates of higher education make up 36%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,698 to 2,582 people: this is the 6th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Châtillon-la-Palud
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtillon-la-Palud | 41.2 | 17% | 5.5% | 3% |
| Villieu-Loyes-Mollon 3,849 · 3.5 mi | 41.1 | 17% | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Chalamont 2,533 · 4.3 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.4% | 3.6% |
| Ambérieu-en-Bugey 15,934 · 4.9 mi | 37.5 | 18% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Meximieux 8,247 · 5.2 mi | 39 | 18% | 2.2% | 7.5% |
| Ambronay 2,841 · 5.3 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 2.9% | 3.3% |
| Lagnieu 7,411 · 6.7 mi | 43.1 | 23% | 2.1% | 7.3% |
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 Châtillon-la-Palud
What is the population of Châtillon-la-Palud?
1,698 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (1,578).
How old are Châtillon-la-Palud’s residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtillon-la-Palud?
43, with occasional dwellings: 5.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtillon-la-Palud?
INSEE counts 52 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtillon-la-Palud?
€28,980 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.