Châtelus is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 57.8
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 7.7% of households are couples with children in Châtelus. Households headed by a manual worker: 23% of the total. On households without a car, Châtelus sits lower than 69% of compared French towns: 7.6%. At the 2023 Census, 119 people lived in the town, in 66 households.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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 Châtelus
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 23 second homes and occasional dwellings in Châtelus, 24% of its 95 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Châtelus’ residents are under 57.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 2.1% of homes are flats in Châtelus
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 20% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 35% who have been there 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Second homes make up about one in four here (24%).
Slower growth than 82% of compared French towns: Châtelus changed by −3% since 2012
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 Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −12% and the next six +10%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 95% of compared French towns: 36%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châtelus 57.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 7.6% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. Set beside that, 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: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of single-parent households than 96% of compared French towns, at 15%
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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.8 people. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. 46% of households are one person living alone, more than in 87% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €21,880 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.
The median standard of living in Châtelus is €21,880 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 89% of compared French towns.
Only 31% of households are headed by a retired person in Châtelus
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0.8% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 99% 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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Châtelus, 30% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 79% 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 two in five residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Châtelus ranks below 99% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 12%
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 adults with no qualification (25%), Châtelus is above 78% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 119 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Châtelus
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtelus | 57.8 | 36% | 24% | 0.8% |
| Lapalisse 3,138 · 6.3 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 3% | 4.5% |
| Renaison 3,231 · 13.7 mi | 50.3 | 31% | 3.4% | 2.2% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 14.1 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 14.3 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 14.7 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
| Abrest 2,915 · 15.3 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
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 Châtelus
What is the population of Châtelus?
119 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (123).
How old are Châtelus’ residents?
The median age is 57.8, older than 97% of compared French towns. 8.4% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtelus?
23, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtelus?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtelus?
€21,880 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.