A larger share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 39%
In Chandolas, 2.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), beside 12% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 3.5% of households are headed by a manual worker. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 6.7% here, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 547, in 270 households.
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 Chandolas
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 180 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chandolas, 39% of its 460 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 86% 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 Chandolas’ residents are under 51.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Fewer empty homes than 98% of compared French towns: 2.3%
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
14% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Few places have so few households without a car: 5.8% here, fewer than in 82% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, empty homes come to 6.7%. Of all households, 12% moved in during the last two years and 21% have stayed three decades or more.
Chandolas’s population changed by +13% since 2012, more than in 78% 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 Ardèche town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
Older than 88% of compared French towns: half of Chandolas is over 51.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chandolas 51.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Chandolas, 28%.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 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.
Fewer couples with children than 74% of compared French towns: 20%
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
10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Chandolas. On one-person households, Chandolas sits higher than 50% of compared French towns: 35%. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. A household here holds 2.1 people on average.
A median of €24,100 a year per consumption unit
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 Chandolas is €24,100 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
In Chandolas, 42% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 88% 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 Chandolas, 7.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.8% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 62% 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.
The median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 51% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Across Chandolas, 6.6% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 42% in Chandolas, less than in 59% 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
25% of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 72% of compared French towns: 15%
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
In Chandolas, 28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 547 to 2,582 people: this is 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.
Chandolas is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandolas | 51.5 | 28% | 39% | 6.6% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 5.1 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 10.3 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 10.5 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 15 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 15.9 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 16.5 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
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 Chandolas
What is the population of Chandolas?
547 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (482).
How old are Chandolas’ residents?
The median age is 51.5, older than 88% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chandolas?
180, with occasional dwellings: 39% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chandolas?
INSEE counts 36 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.6% of residents, and 32 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chandolas?
€24,100 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.