Half of Chalais is over 55.9, older than 95% of compared French towns
The figure for households in social housing is 3.1% in Chalais and 12% in the typical compared French town. 54% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,812 people lived locally, in 880 households. Couples with children make up about one in eight here (13%).
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Chalais
An older town
Half of Chalais’ residents are under 55.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 220 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 69% of compared French towns: Chalais changed by ±0% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −3%; from 2017 to 2023, +3%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Charente town +1%.
Chalais ranks above 97% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 38%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chalais 55.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails just over four fifths of compared French towns: 9%. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer single-parent households than 94% of compared French towns: 6.3%
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 Charente median and the France median
Living alone · share
45% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single-parent households is 10% in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.9 people on average.
Chalais ranks above 98% of compared French towns on empty homes: 18%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%; Chalais has 9.7%. What’s more, more households without a car than in 78% of compared French towns: 18%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 16% of homes are flats, or about one in six.
Half above, half below €20,580 a year in standard of living
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 €20,580 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Chalais sits below 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (2.3%)
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
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 63% of compared French towns: 16%. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
7.2% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 71% of compared French towns don’t reach
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 8.5% in Chalais. As a yardstick, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Charente has 4.8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
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 36% in Chalais, less than in 88% 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 tops 64% of compared French towns: 27%. Elsewhere, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
13% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 99% 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Chalais comes in at 33%. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,812 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Among its 4 nearest neighbors, 1 are older than Chalais
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalais | 55.9 | 38% | 9.7% | 8.5% |
| La Roche-Chalais 3,060 · 8.9 mi | 51.6 | 32% | 7.2% | 6.4% |
| Ribérac 3,734 · 14.6 mi | 56.6 | 37% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire 4,726 · 16.8 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Coutras 8,678 · 17.8 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 2.2% | 4.4% |
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 Chalais
What is the population of Chalais?
1,812 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,807).
How old are Chalais’ residents?
The median age is 55.9, older than 95% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chalais?
120, with occasional dwellings: 9.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chalais?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.5% of residents, and 130 foreign nationals (7.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chalais?
€20,580 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.