Chenon is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 61.8
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 54% in Chenon. This Charente town had 124 residents in 66 households at the 2023 Census. Couples with children make up about one in 13 here (7.7%). On households without a car, Chenon sits lower than 71% of compared French towns: 7.4%.
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 Chenon
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 22 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chenon, 21% of its 100 homes: higher than in 93% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Chenon’s residents are under 61.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chenon had 148 residents at the 2012 census and 124 in 2023, down 16%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 17 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chenon: 21% of homes are second homes, above 93% 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 share of empty homes is 16%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 2.9% moved in during the last two years and 25% have stayed three decades or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
−16% since 2012: slower than 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
The change was −9% from 2012 to 2017 and −8% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Charente town +1%.
Chenon: 42% of residents are 65 or over, above 98% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chenon 61.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 99% of compared French towns: 6.3%. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Below 83% of compared French towns: 7.7% of households are single parents
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
The share of one-person households trails 73% of compared French towns: 31%. Elsewhere, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €25,750 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.
Living standards centre on €25,750 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 52% of compared French towns.
Chenon ranks below 88% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 7.7%
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. As a yardstick, 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).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 88% of compared French towns, at 13%
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Charente has 4.8%. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 13% in Chenon.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Chenon ranks above 99% of compared French towns on married residents: 70%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Chenon comes in at 12%. Elsewhere, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Chenon sits below 76% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (23%)
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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 65% of compared French towns: 22%. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 124 to 2,582 people, the 2nd 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.
No nearby town is as old as Chenon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenon | 61.8 | 42% | 21% | 13% |
| Ruffec 3,449 · 6.2 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 4.9% | 10% |
| Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure 3,111 · 13 mi | 52 | 32% | 2.5% | 4.7% |
| La Boixe 2,841 · 13.5 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 3.8% | 1.7% |
| Civray 2,522 · 14.3 mi | 61 | 43% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| Brie 4,125 · 14.9 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| La Rochefoucauld-en-Angoumois 4,025 · 15.7 mi | 53.8 | 34% | 4.5% | 2.9% |
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 Chenon
What is the population of Chenon?
124 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% fewer than in 2012 (148).
How old are Chenon’s residents?
The median age is 61.8, older than 99% of compared French towns. 9.4% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chenon?
22, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chenon?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chenon?
€25,750 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 October 30, 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.