Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Cheignieu-la-Balme is over 57.2
2.8% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. In 2023, the Census found 131 residents in Cheignieu-la-Balme, living in 74 households. The census found that 12% of households are couples with children locally. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% 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.
What stands out about the people of Cheignieu-la-Balme
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 36 second homes and occasional dwellings in Cheignieu-la-Balme, 31% of its 120 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 97% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Cheignieu-la-Balme’s residents are under 57.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cheignieu-la-Balme had 152 residents at the 2012 census and 131 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Cheignieu-la-Balme’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Cheignieu-la-Balme sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (31%)
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
The share of empty homes trails 84% of compared French towns: 4.3%. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 3.9%.
A change of −14% since 2012 leaves Cheignieu-la-Balme behind 99% 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 first five years brought −12%; the six to 2023, −2%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ain town +13%.
Above 96% of compared French towns: 37% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cheignieu-la-Balme 57.2. The median compared French town: 44.
In Cheignieu-la-Balme, 7.5% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
50% of households are one person living alone, a share 94% 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
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 6.3% of households are single parents here. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Households here average 1.8 people each.
Half above, half below €24,420 a year in 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.
Living standards centre on €24,420 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
Cheignieu-la-Balme ranks above 96% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 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
By its share of households headed by a manager or professional (6.3%), Cheignieu-la-Balme is below 74% of compared French towns. On households headed by a retired person, Cheignieu-la-Balme sits higher than 76% of compared French towns: 37%. In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Cheignieu-la-Balme sits below 82% of compared French towns for immigrants (3%)
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 just over four fifths of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. For Cheignieu-la-Balme, the census puts foreign nationals at 1.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 37% in Cheignieu-la-Balme, less than in 84% 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
Single residents: nearly a quarter of the total. On average, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Below 90% of compared French towns: 12% of adults out of school have no qualification
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 24%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Ranked by age, 5th 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).
No nearby town is as old as Cheignieu-la-Balme
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheignieu-la-Balme | 57.2 | 37% | 31% | 3% |
| Belley 9,388 · 6.2 mi | 46.5 | 26% | 3% | 13% |
| Culoz-Béon 3,453 · 8.4 mi | 43.5 | 23% | 6.2% | 15% |
| Plateau d'Hauteville 4,857 · 9.6 mi | 50.8 | 29% | 11% | 7% |
| Montalieu-Vercieu 3,510 · 9.9 mi | 38.3 | 16% | 4.1% | 5% |
| Yenne 3,026 · 11.5 mi | 44.3 | 25% | 5.1% | 4.9% |
| Morestel 4,340 · 12.3 mi | 46.2 | 26% | 1.3% | 7.6% |
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 Cheignieu-la-Balme
What is the population of Cheignieu-la-Balme?
131 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (152).
How old are Cheignieu-la-Balme’s residents?
The median age is 57.2, older than 97% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cheignieu-la-Balme?
36, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cheignieu-la-Balme?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cheignieu-la-Balme?
€24,420 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.