Half of Chambonas is over 54.9, older than 94% of compared French towns
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 6.7% in Chambonas. The town counted 992 residents and 420 households at the 2023 Census. The share of single-parent households stands at 15%. At 7.1%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
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 Chambonas
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 280 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chambonas, 37% of its 760 homes: higher than in 96% 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 ↓
Growing fast
Chambonas had 652 residents at the 2012 census and 992 in 2023, up 52%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Chambonas’ residents are under 54.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 37% in Chambonas, more than in 96% 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
The figure for households without a car is 5.5% in Chambonas and 11% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing account for 4.5%. Few places have as many empty homes: 7.5% here, more than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns.
Chambonas grew +52% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +39%, and from 2017 to 2023 +10%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ardèche town +4%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of compared French towns, at 36%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chambonas 54.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
12% of households are couples with children, below 97% 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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 37% in Chambonas. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €22,360 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 Chambonas is €22,360 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 61% of compared French towns: 35%
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
With households headed by a manager or professional at 11%, Chambonas is ahead of 58% of compared French towns on that count. Typically, 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).
Above 66% of compared French towns: 6.4% of residents are foreign nationals
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.
The median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 7.8% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
41% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 61% 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
Locally, 24% of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
In Chambonas, 23% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 70% 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
Graduates of higher education: 28% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
6th highest median age among 41 French towns of 992 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.
Chambonas sits below 3 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambonas | 54.9 | 36% | 37% | 7.8% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 1.1 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 9 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 11.8 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 15.1 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 16.3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 16.9 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 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 Chambonas
What is the population of Chambonas?
992 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 52% more than in 2012 (652).
How old are Chambonas’ residents?
The median age is 54.9, older than 94% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chambonas?
280, with occasional dwellings: 37% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chambonas?
INSEE counts 77 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.8% of residents, and 63 foreign nationals (6.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chambonas?
€22,360 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.