Only 0.5% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Chaourse
Flats: 3.9%, below 97% of compared French towns. Still, more households headed by a manual worker than in 99% of compared French towns: 36%. At the 2023 Census, 495 people lived in Chaourse, in 210 households. For Chaourse, the census puts one-person households at 26%.
Throughout this page, the Aisne 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 Chaourse
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 17% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chaourse had 526 residents at the 2012 census and 495 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 31 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.
A change of −6% since 2012 leaves Chaourse behind 91% 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 median Aisne town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +2% and the next six −8%.
Half of Chaourse is over 46.1, older than 64% 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
■ Chaourse 46.1. The median compared French town: 44.
24% of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 35%, a higher share than 93% of compared French towns
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 Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.3 people on average. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Chaourse: 12% of homes stand empty, above 88% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 37% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 4.2% (under two years). Few places have as many second homes: 6.2% here, more than in 81% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Chaourse sits close to the norm on households without a car: 11%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €21,950 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 median standard of living in Chaourse is €21,950 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 89% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.4%
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
Higher than in 56% of compared French towns: 33% of households are headed by a retired person. The wider picture: nearly one in ten 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).
Fewer immigrants than 98% of compared French towns: 1.2%
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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 1% of residents are foreign nationals here. As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
Single residents: 20%, a lower share than 90% 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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 47% of residents 15 and over are married here. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
12% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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
In Chaourse, 36% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (495 to 2,582 people), the 19th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Nearby, 1 of 4 towns have older populations than Chaourse
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaourse | 46.1 | 24% | 6.2% | 1.2% |
| Vervins 2,549 · 10 mi | 42.2 | 23% | 2.2% | 4.2% |
| Hirson 8,469 · 15.8 mi | 43.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Michel 3,199 · 16.3 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
| Athies-sous-Laon 2,578 · 16.7 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 0.7% | 2% |
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 Chaourse
What is the population of Chaourse?
495 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (526).
How old are Chaourse’s residents?
The median age is 46.1, older than 64% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chaourse?
16, with occasional dwellings: 6.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chaourse?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chaourse?
€21,950 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.