A median age of 53: Chezelle is older than 91% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Locally, 25% of households are headed by a manual worker. In 2023, the Census found 158 residents in Chezelle, living in 81 households. 4.9% of households have no car, against 11% in the typical compared French town.
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 Chezelle
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chezelle had 185 residents at the 2012 census and 158 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Chezelle’s residents are under 53 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 16 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.
−15% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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 Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −5% and the next six −10%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.5%, a lower share than 73% 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
■ Chezelle 53. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
6.3% of households are single parents, below 95% 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. As a yardstick, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On couples with children, Chezelle sits lower than 79% of compared French towns: 19%. At the same time, in the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone; in the town, 37%.
A larger share of empty homes than 95% of compared French towns: 15%
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
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 7% of homes are second homes here. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up nearly one in ten households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 16%. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €26,080 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.
Half of residents live in households above €26,080 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 51% of compared French towns.
Chezelle: 37% of households are headed by a retired person, above 76% 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
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Chezelle, 6.3%. For households headed by a retired person, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 4.4% of residents are immigrants in Chezelle
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 2.5% of residents are foreign nationals in Chezelle. Immigrants make up a share lower than in 69% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Chezelle ranks below 63% of compared French towns on single residents: 24%
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
The census found that just over two in five residents 15 and over are married in Chezelle. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 73% 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
Here 17% of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 158 to 2,582 people
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.
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than Chezelle
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chezelle | 53 | 24% | 7% | 4.4% |
| Gannat 5,610 · 8.9 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 10.7 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Aigueperse 2,665 · 13.8 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 13.8 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 15.3 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 15.4 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
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 Chezelle
What is the population of Chezelle?
158 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (185).
How old are Chezelle’s residents?
The median age is 53, older than 91% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chezelle?
7, with occasional dwellings: 7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chezelle?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chezelle?
€26,080 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.