Only 3% of households have no car in Échallon
Here 23% of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. 784 residents in 340 households: that is Échallon at the 2023 Census. The share of one-person households stands at 26%. 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 Échallon
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 66 second homes and occasional dwellings in Échallon, 14% of its 460 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 89% 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 54 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Échallon ranks above 91% of compared French towns on second homes: 14%
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
Some one in ten households are newcomers of under two years, against 24% who have been there 30 years or more. Few places have as many empty homes: 12% here, more than in 87% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Census figures put flats at 10% in Échallon.
+2% since 2012, a pace below 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Ain town +13%.
In Échallon, 18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 74% 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
■ Échallon 45.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Échallon is 45.6, higher than in three fifths of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. The census found that 10% of residents are 15 to 24 here.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
31% of households are couples with children, a share 80% 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
Average household size: 2.3 people. At 7.4%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 86% of compared French towns. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €31,320 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €31,320 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 89% of compared French towns.
Above 63% of compared French towns: 12% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 16% in Échallon. Set beside that, 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 smaller share of immigrants than 63% of compared French towns: 5.1%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 3.2% in Échallon. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. The median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Échallon, 19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 94% 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
Here 46% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
12% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 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
The share of graduates of higher education is 39%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Typically, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (784 to 2,582 people), the 21st oldest
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.
Every neighbor is younger than Échallon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Échallon | 45.6 | 18% | 14% | 5.1% |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 5 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.1% | 33% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 5.1 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
| Bellignat 3,525 · 5.3 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.7% | 26% |
| Nantua 3,416 · 7.8 mi | 42.3 | 23% | 3.6% | 27% |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 8.1 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 2.2% | 23% |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 8.2 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 Échallon
What is the population of Échallon?
784 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (770).
How old are Échallon’s residents?
The median age is 45.6, older than 60% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Échallon?
66, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Échallon?
INSEE counts 40 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 25 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Échallon?
€31,320 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.