Only 1.6% of households have no car in Chavenon
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Census figures put one-person households at 17% in Chavenon. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 140, in 61 households. 1.1% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%).
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 Chavenon
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 16 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chavenon, 18% of its 89 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Chavenon’s residents are under 51.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 1.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 12 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chavenon ranks above 92% of compared French towns on second homes: 18%
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
By its share of empty homes (13%), Chavenon is above 92% of compared French towns. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In the last two years, 6.6% of households moved in; at the other end, 23% have stayed 30 years or more.
A +9% change since 2012: Chavenon grew faster than 65% 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 those years, the median Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +4%, then +4% to 2023.
A median age of 51.7: Chavenon is older than 88% 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
■ Chavenon 51.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 10%, Chavenon is behind 62% of compared French towns on that count. Still, at 23%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is higher than in 55% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 86% of compared French towns: 17%
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
Single-parent households make up 8.3%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. Households here average 2.3 people each.
Standard of living at the median: €24,650 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 €24,650 a year: lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
25% of households are headed by a retired person, below 83% 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 (17%), Chavenon is above 67% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person make up 32% in the typical compared French town. Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in 12.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More foreign nationals than 67% of compared French towns: 6.5%
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 55% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%. Here, 7.2% of residents are immigrants. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Chavenon has 50%. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Only 6.3% of adults out of school have no qualification in Chavenon
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
21% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 140 to 2,582 people, the 10th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Chavenon and its 3 nearest towns: 2 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chavenon | 51.7 | 23% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 13.2 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 16.1 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 17.5 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
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 Chavenon
What is the population of Chavenon?
140 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (129).
How old are Chavenon’s residents?
The median age is 51.7, older than 88% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chavenon?
16, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chavenon?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.2% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (6.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chavenon?
€24,650 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.