A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.9%
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Chesley has 29%. At the 2023 Census Chesley was home to 293 people in 140 households. 5.2% of households have no car. One-person households are rarer here than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Aube 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 Chesley
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chesley, 16% of its 210 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chesley had 328 residents at the 2012 census and 293 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 41 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Chesley’s residents are under 51.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chesley: 19% of homes stand empty, above 99% 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
By its share of second homes (16%), Chesley is above 92% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Nearly a third of households have been in place 30 years or more; 6.6% moved in within the last two years.
A −11% change since 2012: slower than 98% 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 change was −1% from 2012 to 2017 and −10% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Aube town +2%.
Older than 87% of compared French towns: half of Chesley is over 51.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chesley 51.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In Chesley, 31% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. 10% of residents are 15 to 24, or about one in ten.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Aube 52.1%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 68% of compared French towns: 21%
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 Aube median and the France median
Living alone · share
By its share of single-parent households (11%), Chesley is above just over three fifths of compared French towns. The share of couples with children in the typical compared French town is 25%. A household here holds 2.2 people on average.
At the median, €24,680 a year to live on
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.
Living standards centre on €24,680 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 97% of compared French towns: 50%
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. Measured more widely, nearly a third 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).
1.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 97% 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.
Foreign nationals: 0.7% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
52% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 95% 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
The share of single residents trails 90% of compared French towns: 20%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 90% of compared French towns: 19%
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
26% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
The 11th oldest of 41 French towns of 293 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.
Chesley is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesley | 51.3 | 31% | 16% | 1.4% |
| Tonnerre 4,261 · 10.1 mi | 47.3 | 29% | 3.8% | 14% |
| Bar-sur-Seine 2,858 · 15.8 mi | 48.1 | 28% | 1.8% | 6.4% |
| Saint-Florentin 4,164 · 17.9 mi | 47.7 | 28% | 3.5% | 18% |
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 Chesley
What is the population of Chesley?
293 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (328).
How old are Chesley’s residents?
The median age is 51.3, older than 87% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chesley?
34, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chesley?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chesley?
€24,680 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.