Second homes: 35%, a higher share than 95% of compared French towns
The figure for households headed by a retired person is 23% in Chézery-Forens and 32% in the typical compared French town. This Ain town has fewer households without a car than 83% of compared French towns, at 5.6%. 433 residents in 200 households: that is Chézery-Forens at the 2023 Census. The census found that nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the town.
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 Chézery-Forens
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 140 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chézery-Forens, 35% of its 400 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 74% 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 60 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
Car-free households: one in 18, where the median compared French town has 11%. 23% of homes are flats, fewer than in 62% of compared French towns. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%.
From 2012 to 2023, 85% of compared French towns grew faster than Chézery-Forens: −4%
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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ain town +13%.
Chézery-Forens ranks below 66% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 20%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chézery-Forens 43.8. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). With a median age of 43.8, Chézery-Forens is younger than 52% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 52% of compared French towns, at 36%
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
Average household size: 2.2 people. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Chézery-Forens sits close to the norm on single-parent households: 10%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €29,370 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.
At €29,370 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 81% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 15%, a higher share than 75% 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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (13%), Chézery-Forens is below 60% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.1% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 64% 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 median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 55% of compared French towns. Immigrants account for 7.3%. In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals.
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 48% in Chézery-Forens, more than in 83% 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
Locally, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
15% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 73% 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
By its share of graduates of higher education (34%), Chézery-Forens is above 62% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 433 to 2,582 people, the 16th 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.
Of the 6 towns nearest Chézery-Forens, 1 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chézery-Forens | 43.8 | 20% | 35% | 7.3% |
| Péron 2,916 · 3.3 mi | 37.1 | 10% | 6.5% | 25% |
| Thoiry 6,569 · 5.4 mi | 39 | 13% | 6.1% | 34% |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 7.7 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 2.9% | 21% |
| Saint-Genis-Pouilly 14,432 · 7.9 mi | 33.9 | 9% | 6.2% | 41% |
| Valleiry 5,264 · 8.8 mi | 36.8 | 11% | 5.2% | 26% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 10.1 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
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 Chézery-Forens
What is the population of Chézery-Forens?
433 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (451).
How old are Chézery-Forens’ residents?
The median age is 43.8, younger than 52% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chézery-Forens?
140, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chézery-Forens?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.3% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (6.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chézery-Forens?
€29,370 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.