Empty homes: 15%, a higher share than 95% of compared French towns
In Châtillon, 7.6% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 317, in 150 households. For Châtillon, the census puts flats at 5.2%. With a median age of 48.5, Châtillon is older than 77% of compared French towns.
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 Châtillon
Empty homes
The census found 29 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.
A −1% change since 2012: slower than 74% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −2%, and from 2017 to 2023 +1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Allier town −1%.
Châtillon ranks below 65% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 9.9%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châtillon 48.5. The median compared French town: 44.
22% of residents are 65 or over, or about one in five. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 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 lower share of couples with children than 87% of compared French towns, at 16%
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
The share of one-person households is 40%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. Across Châtillon, 6.6% of households are single parents. For comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing: 6%, a lower share than 81% 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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 8% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 19%. 11% of households have no car, more than in 51% of compared French towns. Typically, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,780 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,780 a year: lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 77% of compared French towns: 10%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person trails 63% of compared French towns: 30%. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Higher than in 54% of compared French towns: 10% 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).
5.3% of residents are immigrants, below 60% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Châtillon has 5.3%. Set beside that, 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.
Below 90% of compared French towns: 35% of residents 15 and over are married
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Châtillon has 29%. Elsewhere, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
15% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 75% 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 (33%), Châtillon is above nearly three fifths of compared French towns. As a reference point, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (317 to 2,582 people), the 15th 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.
Among its 5 nearest neighbors, 4 are older than Châtillon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtillon | 48.5 | 22% | 7.6% | 5.3% |
| Moulins 19,206 · 11.1 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 4.3% | 9.9% |
| Avermes 4,074 · 11.7 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 1.4% | 5.2% |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 12.1 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.4% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 13.8 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 16.7 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
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 Châtillon
What is the population of Châtillon?
317 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (320).
How old are Châtillon’s residents?
The median age is 48.5, older than 77% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtillon?
15, with occasional dwellings: 7.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtillon?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (5.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtillon?
€22,780 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.