Chalencon sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (33%)
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 45% in Chalencon. Fewer flats than in 86% of compared French towns: 10%. The town had 328 residents in 170 households at the 2023 census. Couples with children make up about one in six here (18%).
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Chalencon
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chalencon, 33% of its 330 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Chalencon’s households are one person: higher than in 91% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 48 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.
Chalencon ranks below 97% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 1.9%
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 7.9% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 19% who have been there 30 years or more. Households in social housing: 12% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Empty homes make up about one in seven here (15%). Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 9.6%, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns.
Faster growth than 55% of compared French towns: Chalencon changed by +6% 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 first five years brought ±0%; the six to 2023, +5%.
Chalencon is older than 85% of compared French towns: a median age of 50.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chalencon 50.6. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (27%), Chalencon is above 75% of compared French towns. 9% of residents are 15 to 24, a lower share than in 82% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 91% of compared French towns, at 49%
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.9 people. On single-parent households, Chalencon sits lower than three fifths of compared French towns: 9.5%. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
Median living standard: €21,420 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 Chalencon is €21,420 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 92% of compared French towns.
Chalencon sits above 76% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (18%)
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. To put it in context, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker 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 83% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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.
Foreign nationals: 2.3%, below 75% of compared French towns. 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.
Chalencon ranks below 96% of compared French towns on married residents: 32%
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 share of single residents is 29%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
16% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 69% 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 (34%), Chalencon is above 64% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
13th highest median age among 41 French towns of 328 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Older than Chalencon: 1 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalencon | 50.6 | 27% | 33% | 2.9% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 7.3 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Privas 8,538 · 10.1 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 2.3% | 10% |
| La Voulte-sur-Rhône 4,854 · 11.5 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 1.7% | 10% |
| Le Pouzin 2,886 · 12.4 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 1.8% | 12% |
| Chomérac 3,183 · 12.6 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 5.1% | 3.9% |
| Charmes-sur-Rhône 3,143 · 13.1 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 2.4% | 3.6% |
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 Chalencon
What is the population of Chalencon?
328 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (310).
How old are Chalencon’s residents?
The median age is 50.6, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chalencon?
110, with occasional dwellings: 33% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chalencon?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chalencon?
€21,420 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.