A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 84% of compared French towns: 29%
The share of couples with children is 19%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households headed by a retired person are common here: 37%, more than in 74% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne was home to 5,250 people in 2,550 households. Flats come to 49% locally, about five in ten.
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 growing town: +6% since 2012, faster than 55% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +13% for the median Ain town, the change came in two steps: −2% from 2012 to 2017, then +8% to 2023.
A median age of 48.6: Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne is older than 77% 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
■ Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne 48.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The census found that just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne ranks above 76% of compared French towns on one-person households: 42%
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
There are 2 people in the average household. On single-parent households, Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne sits lower than 56% of compared French towns: 9.6%. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of empty homes than 75% of compared French towns, at 9.3%
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, the share of households in social housing is 12%; Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne has 17%. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 13% of households arrived within the last two years, while 14% have stayed 30 years or more. Higher than in 54% of compared French towns: 11% of households have no car.
Standard of living at the median: €26,880 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.
At €26,880 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 60% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 12.0% of the population.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 8.4% in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, less than in 56% 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
Census figures put households headed by a manual worker at 15% in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne. Across the comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 64% of compared French towns, at 4.9%
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 median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 64% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants. Foreign nationals: 3.3% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
39% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 75% 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
The share of single residents is 24%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
24% of adults out of school have no qualification, a share 75% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 27%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 5,196 to 5,305
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Brou-sur-Chantereine is the youngest (34.1); Forcalquier the oldest (50.8).
No nearby town is as old as Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne | 48.6 | 29% | 2.3% | 4.9% |
| Vonnas 3,255 · 7.2 mi | 45 | 25% | 2.3% | 7% |
| Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne 2,934 · 7.9 mi | 44.3 | 22% | 3.6% | 3.7% |
| Villars-les-Dombes 5,163 · 8.9 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 2.8% | 7% |
| Montmerle-sur-Saône 3,799 · 9.7 mi | 46 | 23% | 1.9% | 3.7% |
| Belleville-en-Beaujolais 14,016 · 10.7 mi | 39.6 | 18% | 1.2% | 11% |
| La Chapelle-de-Guinchay 4,018 · 11.5 mi | 42.8 | 19% | 3.1% | 4.4% |
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-sur-Chalaronne
What is the population of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne?
5,250 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (4,957).
How old are Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne’s residents?
The median age is 48.6, older than 77% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne?
65, with occasional dwellings: 2.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne?
INSEE counts 260 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.9% of residents, and 180 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne?
€26,880 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 8, 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.